The new NATO Secretary General added that the issue of inviting Kyiv to the alliance is being discussed in the context of possible negotiations.
NATO’s new secretary-general, Mark Rutte, has said that the alliance’s priority is to transfer both defensive and offensive weapons to Kiev. The Dutch politician said in an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times that this should help strengthen Ukraine’s position if it enters peace talks with Russia.
According to Rutte, alliance members are discussing such a possibility, as well as the issue of inviting Ukraine to NATO in the context of potential negotiations.
“This is something that the allies are certainly consulting with each other about, discussing what the next step might be and how to approach the issue. But when they ask me questions, I always tell them, ‘Well, that’s all very well and we need the discussions, but as far as the immediate future is concerned, the most important thing is to give Ukraine military support, especially air defense assets, but also the offensive systems that it needs to fight this war,’” Rutte said.
He also added that his “first priority” was to – “to ensure that the moment Zelensky decides to enter peace talks, whenever that happens, he can lead them from a strong position.
Rutte also warned that if the peace plan for Ukraine of the future administration of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump favors Moscow’s interests, it could lead to increased risks for Europe and the United States from China, Iran and North Korea. The secretary-general claims that with such an outcome of the conflict, the leaders of these states will only become stronger. The politician said that he brought his point of view to Trump during their meeting in Florida on November 22.
