Mark Rutte and Donald Trump in Washington. Photo: AP
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the Alliance and US President-elect Donald Trump have the potential to convince Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine. In an interview with Fox News, he stressed that any peace agreement must prevent Russia from achieving its goals in the war.
Rutte explained that at the moment Ukraine is not in a strong enough position to negotiate directly with Russia. However, it is important that the agreement is not favourable only to Russia and does not allow it to achieve strategic advantages. According to him, the world will closely monitor the agreement reached between Ukraine and Russia, and this will determine the balance of power in the global arena, including relations with countries such as China, Iran and North Korea.
Rutte expressed confidence that he and Trump will be able to make Putin understand that continuing the war is not in his interests. “We will be able to bring Putin to the negotiating table because he will realise that he has no choice but to end the conflict,” the NATO Secretary General said.
At the same time, Rutte stressed that the main task is to secure an agreement that will not allow Russia, Iran, China and North Korea to benefit from the war, which is critical for global stability and security.
