Netherlands expects that Zelenskyy will be invited to NATO summit in Hague
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
The Netherlands expects to see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO Summit in The Hague on April 24–26. The country is also urging its Alliance partners to increase support for Kyiv and intensify international pressure on Russia to achieve peace, states Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp following the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, according to Evropeiska Pravda.
According to Veldkamp, President Zelenskyy is expected to be invited to take part in the NATO Summit in The Hague. However, it is too early to discuss possible outcomes of the event, as negotiations with Russia on establishing even a temporary ceasefire are still ongoing.
The Dutch minister said that it was still far too early to say what exactly would happen in The Hague, but he expected President Zelenskyy to be there.
He noted that making any predictions regarding the NATO Summit scheduled for June is currently difficult, as Russian-American negotiations are ongoing right now.
Veldkamp added that he could imagine a point when everyone, including the Americans, would lose patience because Russia was dragging out the negotiations. He noted that a similar situation had occurred during the ceasefire talks on the Black Sea, where the Russians had attached various additional elements as a delay tactic. According to him, there had been a very clear sense of this at the negotiating table the previous day.
The Dutch foreign minister emphasized that allies must exert more pressure on Russia and provide maximum support to Ukraine.
On April 3–4, NATO foreign ministers met at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. This was the first in-person meeting of the foreign ministers since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
As part of the meeting, a session of the NATO–Ukraine Council is also taking place, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in attendance. Earlier, he expressed interest in meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Next week, Brussels will also host a meeting of defense ministers from the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine, organized by the United Kingdom and France.
The following day, a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format will be held.
