Rutte slammed Russia for sending 'historian' to talks

Rutte stated that the most important thing now is to force Russia to come to the negotiating table and talk about today’s realities, not events from the distant past.

He emphasized that there was no need to send a historian to discuss events from the 1700s, stressing instead the importance of holding meaningful talks focused on the present.

Rutte stressed that Ukrainians want a ceasefire and peace as soon as possible, and to achieve that, the West must increase pressure on Moscow, particularly through sanctions and other levers of influence.

At the same time, he expressed gratitude to former US President Donald Trump for initiating the dialogue with Vladimir Putin and for motivating European allies to increase their investments in collective defense within NATO.

Rutte noted that Trump had been the only one capable of initiating such a dialogue, and it was thanks to him that conversations with the Russians had begun. He added that the key now was to ensure those talks continued in a way that would lead to tangible results.

Ukraine-Russia negotiations

Direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine resumed this year. So far, two rounds of talks have taken place.

During the latest meeting, Ukraine and Russia reached agreements on prisoner exchanges, as well as on the repatriation of the remains of six thousand fallen soldiers.

As for the date of the third round of negotiations, the Kremlin previously stated that it would be determined after the completion of the prisoner exchanges.

Meanwhile, political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko believes that negotiations will only become real and constructive when Putin is forced to balance military spending with internal economic stabilization.