Rutte: there is "cautious optimism" amid potential Ukraine-Russia talks, but it all depends on Moscow
Kyiv • UNN
NATO Secretary General declared "cautious optimism" regarding the progress of peace in Ukraine. According to him, Russia must take the necessary steps for a breakthrough.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday that he is "cautiously optimistic" about progress towards peace in Ukraine, but now everything depends on Moscow, writes UNN with reference to ANSA.
Details
"We need to see what happens in the next few days: I remain cautiously optimistic that if the Russians also want to cooperate, and not only the Ukrainians, who do, then a breakthrough may occur in the next few hours" to peace in Ukraine, Rutte said upon arrival at an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Antalya.
"Now the ball is in Russia's court," Rutte reiterated.
Drawing attention to the importance of the support provided to Ukraine, Rutte said: "We must do everything possible to stop this war."
Pointing to Turkey's role in this process, Rutte, as reported by Dünya Gazetesi, said: "Turkey has relations with both sides, its power of persuasion is high. If Russia is in Istanbul with its delegation, we will see what happens."
He also said that Russia must take "the next steps", indicates Le Monde.
Addition
Potential negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation are expected on May 15 in Istanbul, Turkey.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 11 that he expects a ceasefire from the Russian Federation and that he will personally wait for Vladimir Putin in Turkey on May 15. But he stated that he would not negotiate with any representative of Russia except Putin himself.
On the night of May 15, the Kremlin announced the participants of the delegation of the Russian Federation to the negotiations in Turkey, but the level was even lower than expected, when the media reported that the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, may be present at the meeting. Putin was also not listed in the Kremlin as a participant in the negotiations in Turkey, scheduled for Thursday, despite the fact that he himself proposed it.
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