NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that he is optimistic about US President Donald Trump's peace initiative for Ukraine, RIA Novosti reports, quoted by FOCUS.
Rutte said this during a visit to Slovakia.
"I myself am optimistic about President Trump's initiative. "Of course, it is still in its early stages, but I think it is important that he has started this peace initiative now with the Russians," he commented.
However, Rutte stressed that any peace agreement must have reliable security guarantees.
At the same time, he did not rule out that such a guarantee could be the deployment of European troops in Ukraine.
"The US said that they do not want to deploy American troops on the ground. But it was also said that everything is on the table“, Rutte said.
The Secretary General noted that the alliance agrees on the need for strong security guarantees for Ukraine, and the Netherlands, Denmark, Britain and France are considering options to help.
"That is why we had a meeting in Paris on Monday and another meeting yesterday and I think there will be more meetings in the near future to coordinate European support for a peace agreement in Ukraine“, he commented.
As for Ukraine's accession to NATO, this can be discussed in the future, but for now it will not become part of the peace agreement, the Secretary General added.
The media recalls that on February 18, Russian-American negotiations were held in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, which lasted four and a half hours. On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov participated in the discussion. Washington was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Walz and Special Envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a legitimate leader and that, unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin, he took office as a result of a free electoral process, Reuters reported, quoted by dariknews.bg.
Macron's statement followed US President Donald Trump's assessment that Zelensky is a "dictator who was not elected".
The French president is answering questions on social media as part of the French government's efforts to educate people about the consequences of the war in Ukraine, France's role and the change in the US position since Trump took office.
The five-year term of Zelensky was supposed to end in 2024. However, new elections cannot be held due to martial law, imposed by Kiev in February 2022 in response to a full-scale Russian invasion, Reuters notes.
"Zelensky was elected president through a free system. That is not the case with Vladimir Putin, who has been killing his opponents and manipulating elections for a long time“, Macron said, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
According to the French president, elections cannot be held in a country that is at war and in a state of war.
Macron insisted that he had no intention of sending troops to Ukraine tomorrow, but only after peace is achieved. He explained that a possible future deployment of French troops in Ukraine would be aimed at guaranteeing peace.
"No, I have not made a decision to send troops to Ukraine tomorrow. Rather, what we are considering is sending troops to guarantee peace once it is agreed," Macron said.
There are no signs that Russia has an "appetite" for peace, British Foreign Secretary David Lamy said after a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in South Africa, BNR reported.
David Lamy warned British media that the West should not be "fooled" by Vladimir Putin's attempts to dress up imperialism as pragmatism before any talks on the future of Ukraine.
The British diplomat said that the United Kingdom would be a "bridge" between the United States and Europe during peace talks on Ukraine and reiterated the government's view that Kiev also had a role to play. However, he expressed doubt that “Russia has the appetite to really achieve this peace”.
So far, Moscow has rejected Keir Starmer's idea of a European peacekeeping force being deployed in Ukraine, as well as the possibility of NATO membership or the return of any territory.
Meanwhile, it has become clear when exactly Keir Starmer and Donald Trump will meet. White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt announced that it will take place next Thursday, four days after the planned visit of French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
The leader of “Reform UK” Nigel Farage said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not a dictator, after he was declared such by US President Donald Trump, BNR reported. At the same time, Farage believes, like Trump, that there should be elections in Ukraine.
Nigel Farage said that Donald Trump's words should be taken "seriously" after he criticized Volodymyr Zelensky and called for him to hold elections as part of a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
But the leader of the “reformers“, a staunch Trump ally, added that people should not take everything said by the US president “absolutely literally".
“Zelensky is not a dictator. But it is right and proper for Ukrainians to have a timetable for elections,” Farage told GB News. He suggested that the election could be held before the conflict is over.
Party leaders in the UK have expressed their disagreement with Trump's comments about Zelensky and Farage has been criticised for his slow response. However, he has defended himself by saying that he was on a plane to Washington when Trump spoke, to attend a conference of conservative politicians.
British politicians have been irritated by Farage's attempt to explain away Trump's comments rather than condemn them. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said that "Farage sounds like a Trump spokesman and certainly does not speak for the UK".