Rutte: to ensure Russia takes negotiations seriously, pressure on them must continue

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that relations with Russia should eventually be normalized when hostilities in Ukraine cease, but this has not yet been achieved and "we must continue to put pressure on them to ensure that Russia takes the negotiations seriously," he said in an interview with Bloomberg, UNN writes.

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"It is normal that if the war ends in some way for Europe, step by step, and also for the United States, step by step, to restore normal relations with Russia," Rutte said in an interview with Bloomberg. - But we are absolutely not there yet".

"We must continue to put pressure on them to make sure they are ready to seriously engage in negotiations with the US administration and, of course, with the Ukrainians," Rutte said of the ongoing negotiations.

Rutte met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, where they discussed a potential US-brokered ceasefire in Ukraine. Europe has largely been excluded from the talks, a fact that has angered many leaders on the continent.

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Rutte's biggest challenge, the publication notes, is maintaining US involvement in NATO amid Trump's general refrain that allies are taking advantage of Washington without spending enough on defense. Trump has previously threatened to withdraw the United States from the military alliance.

Rutte, the publication writes, is "walking a tightrope" between the US - NATO's most important member - and Europe, which is dealing with an increasingly aggressive Russia.

Rutte's good working relationship with Trump was considered one of his strengths when he took office. He was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Trump on his re-election, and one of the first to visit him at Mar-a-Lago in November. The two men developed a good working relationship during Trump's first term, when Rutte was Prime Minister of the Netherlands. After taking office at NATO, Rutte made increasing defense investment and increasing spending one of his key messages, which resonates well with Trump, the publication writes.

At the next summit in June, NATO will seek to raise its members' defense spending target to at least 3%. Trump has demanded that allies spend 5% - a target that many consider unrealistic and that even the US does not achieve.