To end war, Putin must sit down at negotiating table, not "historian" Medinsky, - Rutte
In order to end the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin should be at the negotiating table, not the "historian" Vladimir Medinsky.
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Censor.net reports citing UNIAN.
"To end this war, we need Putin to sit down at the negotiating table, not this historian who now appears twice in Istanbul and tells us again about the history of Russia and Ukraine since the 12th century. I don't know what it was," the NATO Secretary General said in a speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London on 9 June.
According to Rutte, this process requires "Russia that is serious, that wants to negotiate and end the war". He noted that in order to achieve this, it is necessary to first "keep Ukraine strong in this fight".
The NATO Secretary General also spoke about the future of NATO-Russia relations.
"The whole idea that we would have some kind of pleasant, peaceful coexistence with the Russians has disappeared. Vladimir Putin is clearly an expansionist. What he has done to Ukraine is truly staggering. The death toll on both sides, including the Russian side, by the way, is staggering. His economy is in a state of total war," Rutte stated.
