NATO chief tells AFP ‘very difficult to say’ if Ukraine peace any closer

DUBLIN - NATO chief Mark Rutte told AFP on Nov 12 it was not yet clear if the latest talks with Russia had brought peace in Ukraine any nearer, after US envoys met Vladimir Putin in Moscow.“It’s very difficult to say. What I know is that all the parties involved, and that is Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner first of all, but also the Europeans and Ukraine, are working day in, day out to end this war,” Rutte said, in an interview at a summit of European leaders in Dublin.The head of the Western military alliance repeatedly refused to comment on the content of the negotiations beyond insisting that the United States, Europe and Ukraine were “on the same page”.But he appeared to push back against the idea that Russia could be given a say over NATO decisions, after Washington and Moscow touted re-examining Europe’s security arrangements as part of the talks.“This is not a discussion,” the NATO chief said.Rutte said that the alliance had firmly rejected Russia’s “unacceptable” demands before its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine to pull back forces from eastern Europe and refuse to accept new members.“That has always been the consistent position of the alliance,” he said.The NATO boss, however, suggested that it “was not strange” to have discussions with Russia on broader security issues – pointing back to talks with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.“But exactly what it will entail, this is all at the moment being discussed,” he said.“For me, again, the Europeans, Ukraine and the US agreeing what is acceptable, what is not acceptable, I think is very important.” AFP