Ukraine is not today in the necessary position of strength before the opening of possible peace negotiations with Russia, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Monday.
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“Ukraine is not there, because they (the Ukrainians) cannot negotiate from a position of strength at the moment,” declared the Dutch official during an intervention before the European Parliament in Brussels.
And, he added, “we need to do more to ensure that, by changing the trajectory of this conflict, they will be able to achieve that position of strength.”
Empower kyiv
Mark Rutte has insisted since his arrival at the beginning of October at the head of NATO to give Ukraine the means, particularly military, to be in a position of strength against Russia, in the event that peace negotiations were to take place. open.
American President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next Monday, promised during his election campaign to put an end to this conflict between Ukraine and Russia in less than 24 hours. He has since given himself more time, but discussions could nevertheless open quickly, notably thanks to a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The latter is “open to contact” with Donald Trump without preconditions, the Kremlin announced on Friday, welcoming the American president-elect’s desire to “resolve problems through dialogue”.
Spend more on defense
Mr Rutte also called on Europeans to spend more on their defense, in the face of the Russian threat, well beyond the current level, including by reducing a “small fraction” of social spending in Europe.
The 32 NATO countries committed in 2014 to devote at least 2% of their gross domestic product to their military spending, but only 23 of them reached this objective last year.
Or “start learning Russian”
The NATO chief refused to set a new target but recalled that the 2% level was “far from sufficient”. “We are safe now, but not in four or five years,” he warned.
“So if you don’t, start learning Russian or go to New Zealand,” he quipped to MEPs.
