Ukraine has not received a promise that joining NATO will be part of the peace agreement, said today the Secretary General of the pact Mark Rutte at a press conference after the meeting of the defense ministers of the alliance in Brussels.
He noted that he did not rule out that the issue could be settled in the peace agreement, but explained that so far the allies have only expressed readiness for Ukraine to be part of the pact someday. There has never been an agreement in NATO that Ukraine would be accepted after the end of the peace talks. It was agreed that it would join, it could happen after the talks. Our goal is for Russian President Vladimir Putin to no longer attack Ukraine, Rutte said.
All allies are of the opinion that the war must stop. The point is that the outcome of the negotiations should not look like a loss for the West. It is important that the agreements are not challenged later, he added. According to him, after the end of the negotiations, China, Iran and North Korea should know that the West has prevailed.
US President Donald Trump was clear in his election campaign and for several days we knew that a phone call with Putin was coming. This happened yesterday, now we must strive to achieve a lasting agreement. Putin is strong in negotiations and unpredictable. If we want a peace agreement, he must participate, Rutte pointed out.
Putin should know that the West is united. The negotiations will not end in a day or two, he added. According to him, Ukraine will be included in the negotiations in some way.