As rumors of peace talks surrounding the Russo-Ukrainian War grow, Donald Trump says he has spoken on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. NATO chief Mark Rutte foresees a major role for the United States at the negotiating table, but hopes lessons have been learned from the past.
Although the urgency to put a stop to hostilities grows, it is not clear whether this moment is imminent. There is however”intensive contact between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and NATO,” the NATO secretary general said on Sunday 9 February during an interview on the Dutch political talk show Buitenhof. In addition, Rutte noted that the two heads of state and NATO are already discussing what the peace negotiations should look like.
Zelenskyy has since reportedly said he is open to negotiating with Putin. But the President of Ukraine has indicated that he wants Europe at the negotiating table as well. Rutte says it is not yet clear what role Europe will play in the peace talks. He also sees a chance that the EU will stay out.
According to Rutte, it does seem obvious that the US will have a major role in the negotiations. “This is not just a conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Because of the presence of North Korea in Ukraine and the involvement of China and Iran, this has become a geopolitical conflict.”
”We should not inform Putin too much”
Should there be a peace plan, it must be a “strong agreement,” Rutte said, reflecting words uttered earlier by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also said that there should be a strong peace treaty.“Rubio is absolutely right,” Rutte said.
“In 2014, after Russia’s capture of Crimea, we concluded the Minsk agreement, but that proved unsustainable. Russia then tried again, and another major attack followed in early 2022. Now it has to be a treaty where Putin realizes, ‘We should not try to take another square kilometer of Ukraine ever again’,” Rutte said.
Rutte does hope that there is not too much speculation by NATO countries about peace negotiations. “Everything we discuss here at this table, but also at other tables, is information for Putin. I have in front of me the image of Putin in his armchair in Moscow waiting to see what we discuss here. So we should not inform him too much about what is on our minds.”
Related:
- ISW: Russia expands military forces, signaling no interest in peace talks with Ukraine
- Reuters: Ukraine prioritizes security guarantees ahead of potential Trump-Putin meeting
- Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine may be revealed next week
- Zelenskyy warns against Ukraine’s exclusion from US-Russia peace talks
- Trump’s envoy Kellogg pushes for Ukrainian elections in 2025 after potential ceasefire
