NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will urge the administration of US President Donald Trump not to force Ukraine to accept a peace agreement against its will, the Financial Times reports, writes UNN.
Details
"Rutte will use meetings with close aides to Trump on Thursday to argue that an unfair peace settlement" that "appeases" Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will "increase Moscow's threat to Europe," three officials briefed on the preparations said.
"Rutte will use meetings with Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to stress that European security will also be threatened if a pro-Putin settlement is imposed on Kyiv," people say.
"The main message is to make Americans understand what is at stake," said one NATO diplomat. Rutte will also discuss how best to coordinate the transfer of more of the burden of European defense to NATO from the US to European armed forces, people say.
Other Western leaders are also stepping up efforts to influence Trump's tough stance. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will "take advantage" of any opportunity to speak with Trump at Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday, her spokesman said on Thursday.
Rutte's long-planned visit to Washington, primarily focused on preparations for the NATO leaders' summit in June, comes as Trump's desire for a quick peace deal in Ukraine threatens to drive a wedge between the US and Kyiv's European allies, the publication writes.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, told reporters on Thursday that Trump's position on the peninsula, which Russia invaded and forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014, "fully corresponds to the Russian position."
"Russia has offered to abandon some of Putin's remaining claims to Ukrainian territory not under its control, but has shown no willingness to agree to any peace deal unless its core demands are met," the publication notes.
"President Putin is in favor of achieving peace while ensuring the interests of our country. This is a prerequisite," Peskov said, according to state Russian media.
Peskov also "ruled out accepting a European peacekeeping presence in Ukraine," which is part of a plan presented by the US to Ukraine and its allies in Paris last week, the publication writes.
Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, is expected to meet with Putin in Moscow for the fourth time this year this week.
Ukraine's path to NATO is irreversible, nothing has changed - Rutte15.04.25, 20:44