Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin must one day decide whether he truly wants to participate in negotiations; meanwhile, allies must do everything to ensure Ukraine remains as strong as possible, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated during a press conference following meetings of allied defense ministers in response to a question about the prospects of achieving any progress with Russia, UNN reports.
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"Obviously, Putin one day has got to take a decision whether he wants to play ball or not," Rutte pointed out, answering whether he expects concessions from Putin or escalation against the backdrop of Russia weakening.
"Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Marco Rubio, they are all working hard to start this peace process. I really want to thank them for that. It was President Trump last year in February who broke the deadlock in negotiations with Putin by starting a direct dialogue. I think that was also crucial because he was the only one who could do it," the NATO Secretary General indicated.
But, he noted, "in the end, the question is whether Putin wants to play ball, whether he really wants to participate in talks."
"In the meantime, we have to do everything to make sure Ukraine stays as strong as possible in the fight. So that's what that's what we are working on," Rutte emphasized.
"And when looking at Russia as a whole, do not forget that the latest figures you can see from Russia are that they spent 40%, and now 48% — the state budget is now being spent on defense. 48%. This means that of the tax revenues Moscow receives, about 75% of tax revenues are now spent on defense. These are crazy numbers," the NATO Secretary General continued.
"Therefore, we cannot be naive about Russia. At the same time, Russia is no larger than Belgium and the Netherlands combined, and they know that we are a very strong NATO, and they know that they cannot defeat us. Therefore, we will do everything to make them understand that it would be their biggest mistake if they try," he stressed.