Rutte insists on supporting Ukraine more to strengthen it in the war and prepare it for negotiations

BRUSSELS Jan. 9 () –

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated this Thursday that Ukraine’s allies must reinforce military support for kyiv to “prolong the war and prevail in the fight” against Russia, while ensuring that it leaves a good position for Ukraine in the face of possible negotiations with Moscow to end the conflict.

“We have to do everything possible to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs in terms of training, in terms of equipment, to prolong the fight and prevail in this fight,” he said upon arrival at the ‘Ramstein’ format meeting. , which brings together almost 50 allies of Ukraine before the invasion launched by Russia in February 2022.

In any case, the former Dutch prime minister has insisted that aid to Ukraine must also seek to place kyiv “in the best possible position” for future peace talks.

“So that one day, when talks begin at the initiative of Ukraine on how to resolve this conflict, they will be in the best possible position to do so,” he noted, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has marked 2025 as the year to ending the conflict and the return of Donald Trump to the White House brings closer the scenario of a ceasefire in Ukraine.

According to Rutte, there is a “global context” that must be taken into account in the case of Ukraine, stating that the outcome of the conflict can mark the relations and future actions of other actors such as China, Iran or North Korea that have supported Ukraine. Moscow in its offensive against the neighboring country.

“When these talks are over, it will be seen, in a sense, whether there is a good deal or not, and if it is not a good deal, it will be watched by the Chinese, the North Koreans, Iran, obviously Russia. The whole world is watching, so that we have to make sure that Ukraine is in the best possible position,” he insisted.

This Thursday a new meeting of the contact group that coordinates military support to Ukraine in the context of the Russian invasion takes place at the Ramstein air base in Germany. Precisely this meeting will be the last one attended by the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, before the change of administration in Washington and when the arrival of Trump puts in check the continuity of this forum in particular and the level of support for Ukraine in general. .

At the end of 2024, Rutte met European leaders and Zelensky at his residence in Brussels to discuss how to strengthen Ukraine’s position before eventual negotiations with Russia for a possible ceasefire, in a maneuver to close ranks with the European powers. NATO before the start of Trump’s second term.