Russia Rutte on US peace plan: Strong and difficult elements
In the debate on the US peace plan for an end to the war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warns against expecting too much. "It contains some strong, but also some difficult elements that require more work and negotiations," Rutte told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) and the Spanish newspaper "El Pais". "We are still a long way from reaching our goal on the road to peace." The peace plan forms the basis for the talks between Ukraine and the USA.
26.11.2025, 01:52
SDA
On Tuesday, Ukraine agreed to the most important points of the US peace plan according to its own and US statements. According to US President Donald Trump, only a few points are still in dispute. The Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Selenskyj is to travel to a meeting with Trump in November.
Last week, the USA presented a 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine. Europeans and Ukrainians renegotiated the plan, which many have criticized as a "Russian wish list", with US representatives in Geneva.
Rutte described the talks in Geneva as a "real success". However, the meeting was initially only the basis for bringing the USA and Ukraine into a real dialog. "But further meetings must follow, and then there must also be separate talks with the EU and NATO on a number of issues."
"Russia has no say"
Rutte announced that he would not accept a veto from Moscow on Ukraine's accession. "Russia has no say and no veto over who becomes a Nato member", he said. Within NATO, however, the admission of a new member requires unanimity - and several allies, including the USA, have currently spoken out against joining. If one wanted to ensure that Putin would never try to attack Ukraine again, appropriate security guarantees would at least have to be created.
According to Rutte's assessment, Russia has not made any significant progress despite enormous personnel losses on the front in Ukraine. "Russia is losing around 20,000 soldiers every month," Rutte told RND and "El Pais". Russia has not achieved any significant territorial gains. So far, around one million Russians have been killed or seriously wounded. This year, Russia has only taken about one percent of Ukrainian territory and is advancing "only a few meters" every day.
