RT reported that on April 5, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said NATO would not participate in US-intermediated ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, while admitting that the idea of Ukraine joining NATO was never part of a potential peace deal.
In an interview with New Voice of Ukraine (NV), Mr. Rutte noted that the US-led military bloc has no role in negotiations to end the Ukrainian conflict. We dont have our own red lines, because we are not one of them, Rutte said.
However, Mr. Rutte still expressed hope that Ukraine will continue to be a sovereign state, achieving a just and developed peace in the future.
When asked about NATO's contribution to the plan to deploy peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, Mr. Rutte said that "it is unlikely to happen", but did not rule out the possibility that member states would participate independently.
Mr. Rutte noted that although post-confliction security forces are established by member states or NATO, they will still affect the territory as well as the protection of the territory of the US-led military bloc in the future.
While many European countries, including the UK, France and Germany, are accelerating plans to establish an Coalition of ready-made countries to provide security guarantees to Kiev, Mr. Rutte said it is too early to discuss the issue. It is best to wait until a peaceful time is established to assess carefully, Rutte said.
Mr. Rutte also completely dismissed the possibility of including Ukraine's NATO membership in the negotiations, emphasizing that these are two completely separate issues, between a " peace agreement" and a "long-term prospect".
Despite US President Donald Trump's recent statement denying Ukraine's ability to join NATO, Mr. Rutte still insists that the path to becoming a member of Kiev's military alliance is "irreversible". However, he also admitted that he could not specify when that would come true.
On the Russian side, officials have repeatedly stated that NATO's expansion to the East was one of the main reasons for the conflict and demanded that Ukraine abandon its intention to join the alliance.
The plan to send troops from NATO countries to Ukraine has also been strongly opposed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Deputy head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev warned that this would lead to a full-scale war, a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
