Rutte: NATO should help Ukraine end war with Russia through negotiations, but from position of strength
Photo: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (Getty Images)
Only Ukraine can decide when to start negotiations with Russia to end the war. Meanwhile, NATO allies must continue providing military assistance to Ukraine so it can negotiate from a position of strength, stated NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a joint press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
"It is only the Ukrainian government which can decide to start talks with Russia on how to end this war. But they (the Ukrainians - ed.) have to do this from a position of strength. That is why we need to continue to deliver defense aid into Ukraine to make sure they will be in a position of strength when the day comes," said Rutte.
He also reiterated that Ukraine's path to NATO membership is irreversible.
"We have made it clear in NATO that their future will be in NATO. That is the decision we repeated again at the NATO summit in Washington – the irreversible path towards NATO membership for Ukraine. We are building the bridge – by the 40 billion euro pledge, by the Command we are setting up in Wiesbaden, by all the bilateral security agreements many allies have now made with Ukraine. This is building the bridge towards future NATO membership for Ukraine," the NATO Secretary General emphasized.
Ukraine-Russia negotiations
Earlier, the Office of the President of Ukraine stated the main condition for starting negotiations with Russia: the withdrawal of enemy troops to positions held before February 24, 2022. They emphasized that Ukraine opposes a frozen conflict.
At the same time, the US State Department stated that the United States sees no evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine on anything other than his own terms.
