As U.S.-brokered peace talks with Russia have reportedly stalled, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that President Donald Trump is the only political figure capable of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.
Russia has rejected several proposals advanced by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, who are in Moscow for direct talks with the Kremlin.
The Trump administration initially offered a 28-point peace plan last month, which Ukraine said heavily favored Russia. European leaders then produced a counterproposal, and at talks in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine announced they had created an "updated and refined peace framework" to end the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday reportedly said that European powers were trying to undermine the peace effort by offering ideas that were "absolutely unacceptable" to Russia.
Asked about the state of the talks during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Rutte thanked Trump for his diplomatic efforts, De Standaard reported. Rutte said Trump is "the only person in the world who has been able to break the impasse surrounding the war in Ukraine."
Top Russian diplomat Yuri Ushakov said Tuesday that the U.S. and Russian delegations "have not yet come any closer to a solution" and that "much work" remains, according to De Standaard.
Rutte acknowledged the challenges during his news conference in Brussels.
"Achieving peace doesn't happen all at once or in a straight line," he said. "A proposal has to be put on the table."
"You have to discuss it, and we saw the meetings in Geneva, Miami, and yesterday in Moscow," added Rutte. "It will be a step-by-step approach."
Rutte declined to comment further on the negotiations, saying he wanted to avoid complicating the process. But he said he remains in close contact with the U.S. and emphasized that the White House shares the same objective as other allies: achieving peace and protecting Ukrainian sovereignty.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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