NATO not involved in talks to end war between Ukraine and Russia – Rutte

Rutte announced this in an interview with NV, as reported by Ukrinform.

“We, as NATO, are not involved in these negotiations. In fact, they are being conducted by the United States together with Ukraine and Russia. I am glad that the United States has overcome the impasse, and these negotiations are now continuing. They are moving slowly, and this is known not because of Ukraine, but because of Russia. The ball is now clearly in Russia's court, in their corner,” he noted.

In his opinion, NATO does not have its own red lines in peace talks, “since we are not part of them.”

“But of course, overall, we want Ukraine to remain a proud sovereign country in the future. That's what we all want. It must be a fair and sustainable peace. Putin must never seek to repeat that,” Rutte added.

Asked whether NATO could participate in a peacekeeping force in Ukraine (an idea being discussed by Britain and France with European partners), Rutte replied: “When we reach a peace agreement or a ceasefire, we will need to think about the best ways to support Ukraine and prevent Russia from attacking again.”

He noted that the first step is to ensure the best possible position for the Ukrainian Armed Forces after a ceasefire or the signing of a peace agreement.

“Then there are the French and the British, who are looking for ways to work with the 'coalition of the willing' to provide security guarantees. We have proposals from the Italians, which are going in a slightly different direction, but with the same goal. I think it is best to wait until a peace agreement is reached,” he added.

Read also: Ukraine's path to NATO membership is irreversible, but not part of peace deal – Rutte

Rutte stressed the importance of continuing to develop these various ideas so that Ukraine can benefit from them once a peace agreement or ceasefire is reached.

At the same time, he noted that NATO itself would probably not participate in such a peacekeeping mission.

“It is unlikely. But NATO allies could be involved. And that always means that it affects NATO territory. It could affect the defense of NATO territory in the future. So in this context, it is necessary to coordinate efforts and maintain communication. And this concerns the Italian proposals, the ideas of Great Britain and France, and also some proposals of Chancellor Schulz. So on all these issues. And then, I think, the best moment to assess which approach is most effective is when we know what the peace agreement looks like,” Rutte concluded.

He also commented on the commitment of NATO allies to provide 20 billion euros in support for Ukraine.

“I would like to clarify that last year 40 billion [euro] was promised for this year, and in the end we received 50 billion [euro], of which 60% was provided by the EU and Canada. That is, America's NATO allies. Now, in the first three months, we have collected about 20 billion euros, which is equivalent to more than 20 billion US dollars in three months. And last year, 50 billion [euro] was allocated for this period,” Rutte said.

According to him, a significant flow of defensive equipment from the United States, European allies and other countries continues to flow from Er to Ukraine.

“But 99% of the funding is coming from NATO allies to Ukraine to ensure that you can continue to fight and be in the best possible position to negotiate,” he said.