Trump broke deadlock in Russia-Ukraine war by initiating dialogue with Putin - NATO chief
Photo: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Mark Rutte says at the NATO Public Forum that US President Donald Trump helped break the deadlock on ending the war in Ukraine by initiating dialogue with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
US President Donald Trump helped break the deadlock on ending the war in Ukraine by initiating dialogue with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Mark Rutte said at the NATO Public Forum.
"I want to commend President Trump for breaking the deadlock. When he came into office, he started a dialogue with President Putin, and I have always thought that was crucial," Rutte says.
In his opinion, only Trump could have done this.
"There is only one leader who could break the deadlock originally, and that had to be the American president, because he is the most powerful leader in the world and leading 25% of the world's GDP and the mightiest and most powerful military in the world," says the NATO secretary general.
At the same time, Rutte said that Trump's intervention would not lead to an immediate agreement.
"Him doing that, breaking the deadlock, was very important. But this doesn't mean we are now getting a deal immediately. It will take time," he says.
The NATO Secretary General notes that it is currently difficult to predict when a ceasefire might occur. At the same time, he stressed that the Alliance must provide Ukraine with everything it needs to continue its resistance and be in the best position when real negotiations begin.
Rutte's reaction to negotiations between Ukraine and Russia
At the same time, Mark Rutte called the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul unserious, citing Moscow's position. According to him, NATO allies must provide Ukraine with everything it needs to continue the fight and ensure its strong position when real negotiations begin
"I am not talking about these talks with this Russian historian (head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky - ed.) is now leading, going back to a thousand years ago, and then who was responsible for whatever," he clarifies.
Rutte is convinced that the two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul were not serious. At the same time, the secretary general is proud of Ukraine, which sent a high-level delegation to these meetings.
"So they (the Ukrainians - ed.) took this seriously. But clearly Russia was not serious," he added.
The NATO Secretary General expressed hope that real peace talks will begin soon.
Istanbul talks
On June 2, Ukraine and Russia held a second round of negotiations in Istanbul.
For more details on the negotiations, see RBC-Ukraine's report.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reported the results of the meeting to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to Umerov, he has already shared the initial details of the meeting with Zelenskyy and will convey Russia's proposals to the president upon his return to Kyiv. He noted that Russia presented its proposals during the negotiations. In response, Ukraine reiterated its position.
