NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday in Dublin that recent talks on ending the war in Ukraine produced positive signals. He cautioned that it is still unclear whether Russia is truly ready to engage in peace negotiations.
“It all depends on the Russians and whether they want to cooperate,” Rutte stressed in the Irish capital, where the European Political Community (EPC) summit is taking place Thursday.
The head of NATO also emphasized that, during further negotiations with Russia, Ukraine must be kept in the strongest possible position.
The EPC summit is underway in Dublin on Thursday, followed a day later by an informal meeting of the European Council. Poland is represented at these events by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived at the Kremlin on Thursday to talk with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about Russia’s war against Ukraine.
They went to Moscow after negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, mediated by the U.S., ended Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. After meeting with Putin, Witkoff and Kushner are to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Dublin.
The American news site Axios reported Wednesday that the U.S. has asked Russia to present a new proposal for a future agreement on security in Europe. That is to be one element of Kushner and Witkoff’s talks at the Kremlin. The envoys from Washington also want Putin to agree to the participation of European representatives in the next round of peace talks.
From Brussels, Łukasz Osiński (PAP)
German Chancellor: Positive Signals Have Come From Abu Dhabi
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday in Dublin that positive signals have come from Abu Dhabi, where negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine concluded Wednesday. “We have a chance, together with the Americans, to achieve peace in Europe,” he said.
Asked who should represent Europe in talks with the Kremlin, Merz said such formats already exist. He noted that there is the E3, made up of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and that talks are also held in a broader format that includes Poland and Italy.
“I don’t see any problem with it staying that way. What matters is that Russia comes to us and is ready to talk, and then everything will be fine,” he said.
He added that the course of the talks does not depend on the representative, but on whether Vladimir Putin is ready to talk.
“I believe Russia seems ready to talk with Europe, and not without it. And that is, above all, good news, but whether it lasts, we will only see. It will depend on the talks in the coming days,” he said.
The summit of the European Political Community (EPC) is underway in Dublin on Thursday, followed a day later by an informal meeting of the European Council. Poland is represented at these events by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived at the Kremlin on Thursday to talk with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about Russia’s war against Ukraine.
On Wednesday, two days of talks between representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. ended in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The negotiations brought no breakthrough on ending the war, but a large exchange of prisoners of war was agreed. It was the first three-way negotiation since February.
From Dublin, Magdalena Cedro (PAP)
