WASHINGTON: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Russian President Vladimir Putin could be brought to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine through “sustained pressure,” emphasizing the key role of the United States in facilitating peace talks.
“I’m absolutely convinced that with sustained pressure, we will be able to get Putin to the table to agree with a ceasefire, and then other talks coming after that,” Rutte told reporters following a joint news conference at the White House with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Rutte said the two leaders discussed how NATO and its partners could help end the Russia-Ukraine war and what steps might convince Putin to accept a ceasefire. He described Trump as “the only one who can sit down with Putin and get him to change his calculus,” adding that Trump’s “powerful position and vision” give him the ability to lead the process.
Highlighting Washington’s renewed involvement in Ukraine’s security guarantees, Rutte also pointed to close cooperation between the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, and European partners under the framework of joint security commitments.
Trump Cancels Putin Meeting, Announces New Sanctions
Earlier at the White House, Trump said he canceled a planned summit with Putin because “it didn’t feel right.”
“We canceled the meeting with President Putin, it didn’t feel right to me,” he told reporters alongside Rutte. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”
Trump voiced frustration over the lack of progress in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. “Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” he said.
His remarks came shortly after the US announced new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, citing Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment” to a peace process, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Asked why the US was escalating sanctions now, Trump said: “I just felt it was time. We’ve waited a long time.”
He described the new measures as “tremendous sanctions,” adding: “We hope that they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled.”
