Only Ukraine can decide when and how to begin negotiations with Russia to end the war, but NATO allies must continue providing strong support to ensure Ukraine can engage in such negotiations from a position of strength.
This was stated today by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a joint press conference with the President of the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, at the Ādaži military base in Latvia.
"Only the Ukrainian government can decide whether to start negotiations with Russia and how to end this war. But they (the Ukrainians) must do so from a position of strength. That’s why we must continue delivering defense assistance to Ukraine, so they can be in a position of strength when making such a decision," said the NATO chief.
Responding to a journalist’s question about the prospects of Ukraine’s invitation to NATO under the current circumstances, Mark Rutte reiterated that Ukraine’s path to NATO membership is irreversible.
"We have made a clear decision that they (Ukrainians – ed.) will join NATO. We reaffirmed this decision at the Washington Summit. This is an irreversible path for Ukraine to NATO. We are building a 'bridge' (for Ukraine to NATO), with a 40 billion euro investment, the creation of a NATO Command in Wiesbaden, and all the security agreements that allies have signed with Ukraine on a bilateral basis. This is all part of Ukraine’s future in NATO," emphasized the NATO Secretary General.
