• Ukraine wants 2027 membership date as part of peace deal.
• Kallas says a lot of work still needed.
• Latvian president plays down peace deal prospects.

MUNICH: European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday she felt that EU governments were not ready to give Ukraine a date for membership despite a demand to do so from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy repeated on Saturday that he needed a date as part of security guarantees for a final peace package with Russia.

“My feeling is that the member states are not ready to give a concrete date,” Kallas told a panel at the Munich Security Conference. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

Ukraine pushing for 2027 membership

Ukrainian EU membership in 2027 was pencilled into a 20-point peace plan discussed between the United States, Ukraine and the European Union, diplomats have said, as a measure to ensure Ukraine’s economic prosperity after the war ends.

But many EU governments believe that date, or any other fixed date, is completely unrealistic because EU accession is a merit-based process, moving forward only when there is progress in adjusting a country’s laws to EU standards.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics echoed the Kallas comments but held out little hope of an imminent peace deal.

“Yes, we understand that we need Ukraine in the European Union and, yes, when talking with many heads of state I get the feeling there is no readiness to accept a date,” he said.

Rinkevics said that the EU had always been creative when there was a real need and could probably find a formula that suited the bloc, but it would also need to assuage Western Balkan states and Moldova, which have long been vying for membership.

“Like it or not it is very much tied to the peace deal. Will there be a peace deal or not? I don’t see that Russia is going to move, and if Russia is not moving, then we are not going to have a deal,” he said.

Ukraine applied to join the EU days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, seeking to anchor itself politically and economically to the West.

It has been pushing to make progress on its bid, despite the challenges of the war and opposition from EU member Hungary, which is blocking the start of detailed membership talks.

While discussing Bangladesh’s political situation with Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Indian journalists in Dhaka, I was struck by how neatly history seemed to fold back on itself. 

In 2024, India is grappling with the consequences of its misjudgments in Dhaka, even as Pakistan finds new diplomatic space. Whether this moment marks a break with the past or merely its repetition remains unclear.

What struck me most was a comment by a young Bangladeshi: “We want equal and better relations with both Pakistan and India. Both of you treated us in similar ways. […] We have wounds from both, but we want to move forward”.

Following Sheikh Hasina’s departure for India on August 5, 2024, anti-Indian sentiment persists among the public, but it is directed at the Indian government rather than the Indian people. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096-kilometre land border.

Fifty-four rivers, including the Padma, Brahmaputra, and Teesta, connect the two countries. Bilateral trade stands at $14-16 billion, and their interests remain deeply intertwined.

India’s policy of putting all its eggs in Hasina’s Awami League basket proved costly, though it is now trying to rebuild bridges. India appears to have realised its policy missteps, or at least that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) represents the new political reality with a public mandate.

When I asked Prime Minister-elect Tarique Rahman whether he would demand Hasina’s extradition from India, given public calls in Dhaka for accountability, he replied cautiously: “That depends on the judicial process”.

Rahman appeared to be a seasoned and careful politician. He avoided angering anyone and did not resort to populist rhetoric. Notably, he did not utter a single critical word about the Awami League or Hasina.

One positive aspect of the current moment is that doors appear open for Pakistan. In Dhaka, people warmly welcome Pakistanis. I met Afroza Begum, the daughter of a Pakistani Air Force officer, born in Rawalpindi in 1958.

She had come to a restaurant with her siblings and recalled how, after the attempted hijacking of a Pakistani plane by Matiur Rahman, they were detained. Alongside those memories, she also recalled fond ones, especially the food and places of Karachi and Peshawar.

“We came from Pakistan in 1974, but our hearts still remain there. That is why, when we heard of the Peshawari Kitchen restaurant in Dhaka, we came to relive those memories.”

The efforts of Pakistani diplomats, especially former high commissioner Imran Siddiqui, are visible. Current High Commissioner Imran Haider and his team are also working to bring the two countries closer. Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Bangladesh stands at about $865 million, and diplomats are focusing on expanding both social and economic ties.

Policymakers in Pakistan should view Bangladesh not through an Indian lens, but as an independent and sovereign brother with its own relationships. Similarly, Indian policymakers should not see Bangladesh through a Pakistani lens, but as a country that initiated Saarc and wants to revive it.

“We will work to reorganise Saarc and will talk to our friends, after forming the government, as it was our initiative,” Tarique Rahman said at a press conference in response to a question from The News.

For Bangladesh’s new leadership, the first priority is Bangladesh itself and its national interests. Rahman’s approach focuses on “Bangladesh First” rather than Pakistan or India. Despite personal tragedies, including the assassination of his father and his mother’s death after years in exile, he refrains from speaking ill of opponents.

Domestically, he is reaching across divides, visiting Dr Shafiqur Rahman of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and meeting Nashad Islam, a key elected youth leader of the National Citizens Party (NCP), which played a significant role in the movement that led to Sheikh Hasina Wajed’s removal from power.

He appears to understand that rebuilding a nation requires respecting political opponents. The hope is that by revitalising Saarc, Bangladesh can become a centre of regional cooperation rather than a battleground of India-Pakistan rivalry.

Originally published in The News

• JI vows to serve as “vigilant, principled, peaceful opposition”.
• BNP alliance won 212 seats, followed by JI’s 77.
• European Union declares Friday elections “credible”.
  

Bangladesh’s prime minister-in-waiting Tarique Rahman on Saturday dedicated his landslide election win to those who “sacrificed for democracy”, calling for unity after the first polls since a deadly 2024 uprising.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Rahman, 60, the scion of one of the most powerful political dynasties, is set to lead the South Asian nation of 170 million people after sweeping elections on Thursday.

“This victory belongs to Bangladesh, belongs to democracy,” he said, in his first speech since the vote. “This victory belongs to people who aspire to and have sacrificed for democracy.”

He will take over from an interim government that has steered Bangladesh since the student-led uprising ended the iron-fisted rule of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

The success of BNP chief Rahman marks a remarkable turnaround for a man who only returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain, far from Dhaka’s political storms.

The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Electoral Commission.

‘Remain united’

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, had initially alleged “inconsistencies and fabrications” in the vote, but earlier on Saturday, he conceded.

He said he would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition”.

He noted that his Islamist party — which had been crushed under Hasina — had quadrupled its seats in parliament from its previous best, calling it “a foundation” for the future.

Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from taking part. Hasina, 78, who was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, issued a statement from hiding in India decrying an “illegal and unconstitutional election”.

BNP chief Rahman called for all to work together after a tumultuous political period.

“Our paths and opinions may differ, but in the interest of the country, we must remain united,” Rahman said.

‘Freedom-loving’

His father, president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in 1981, while his mother, Khaleda Zia, served three terms as prime minister and dominated national politics for decades.

“The freedom-loving, pro-democracy people of the country have once again brought victory to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party,” he added, in an initial speech in English, before switching to Bangla.

Retiring interim leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, earlier on Saturday said Rahman “would help guide the country toward stability, inclusiveness, and development”.

The US embassy congratulated Rahman and the BNP for a “historic victory”, while neighbouring India praised his “decisive win”, a notable shift after deeply strained ties.

China and Pakistan, which both grew closer to Bangladesh since the 2024 uprising and the souring of ties with India, where Hasina has sheltered since her ouster, also congratulated the BNP.

International election observers said the polls had been a success, with the European Union saying on Saturday they had been “credible”.

The Election Commission said turnout was 59% across 299 constituencies out of 300 in which voting took place.

Only seven women were elected, although a further 50 seats in parliament reserved for women will be named from party lists.

Voters on Thursday also endorsed proposals in a referendum for a sweeping democratic reform charter backed by Yunus, to overhaul what he called a “completely broken” system of government and to prevent a return to one-party rule.

Those include prime ministerial term limits, a new upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.

But Rahman said the new government he will lead faces daunting challenges.

“We are about to begin our journey in a situation marked by a fragile economy left behind by an authoritarian regime, weakening constitutional and structural institutions, and destroying law and order,” he said.