Rutte said about Putin’s demands for Ukraine’s accession to NATO

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has no say or veto in deciding who should be a NATO member in the future. This is only possible if Russia wants to join the Alliance.

It was stated by the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, during the Ukrainian Breakfast at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to the correspondent of Novyny LIVE.

Putin’s demands for Ukraine’s accession to NATO

"Putin does not have a veto or a say in who joins NATO in the future unless he wants to join the Alliance himself," Rutte said. 

He added that the risk in politicians’ conversations now is that "we start negotiating with Putin without sitting down with him". 

"Putin, sitting in his chair in Moscow, is just ticking the boxes — yes or no — on NATO, holding on to the territory he has seized in the past," the Secretary General said. 

Now, according to Rutte, we should focus on putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position for future negotiations, and after that, guaranteeing sustainable peace.

As you know, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation is the main organizer of the Ukrainian Breakfast in Davos. 

As a reminder, earlier Mark Rutte said what would happen with NATO if Ukraine loses the war and called on partners to help Kyiv. 

At the same time, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, also made a statement and emphasized that the war in Ukraine is "not a local conflict".