Rutte comments: Will NATO accept Ukraine cession of territory to Putin?

According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, future negotiations on a peace settlement in the Ukraine war will hardly be able to avoid discussing the future of the Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories. "We must acknowledge at the moment that Russia controls part of Ukrainian territory," Rutte told the US broadcaster ABC .

After a ceasefire, the question will arise as to what happens next regarding territorial issues and possible security guarantees for Ukraine. At the same time, the NATO chief emphasized that Ukraine is a sovereign state that determines its own geopolitical future.

In territorial matters, it is important to distinguish between "de facto" and "de jure" recognition, Rutte said. A potential agreement could, for example, establish that Russia de facto controls certain territories without this control being legally recognized. As an example, he pointed to the West's decades-long stance on the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states.

This Friday, US President Donald Trump plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the state of Alaska to negotiate a possible peace settlement in Russia's nearly three-and-a-half-year-long war of aggression against Ukraine. Rutte praised Trump's efforts and called it a test of Putin's seriousness about ending the war. Rutte said the meeting could be an important step toward comprehensive negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet received an invitation to Alaska. He, like his Western partners, fears that decisions could be made there without Ukraine's consent. Zelensky recently indirectly emphasized that he would not accept a territorial swap floated by Trump.

An EU official confirmed to Reuters that Europe has drafted a counterproposal to Trump's offer, but without providing details. Russia has therefore accused the Europeans of obstructing Trump's approach to ending the war.

Hardliner Dmitry Medvedev wrote: "The Euro idiots are trying to thwart American efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to Reuters, that the relationship between Ukraine and the EU resembled "necrophilia."