EU must decide for itself on negotiations with Russia, - Rutte
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the issue of possible direct negotiations with Russia falls exclusively within the European Union’s jurisdiction, and that it is up to the EU to make such decisions on its own.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing "Interfax-Ukraine".
Debate on Draghi's Nomination
As noted, the NATO Secretary General expressed this position on Wednesday in Brussels at a press conference, when asked whether he supports direct negotiations between Europe and Russia and the possible nomination of Mario Draghi as the European negotiator.
"Mario Draghi is a close personal friend of mine, but I’m not going to comment on who should take on this role. I think the European Union needs to decide what role it wants to play, and if the answer is yes, then there needs to be a debate about who can play that role," he said.
Rutte emphasized that it was not his place to comment on this matter, as the decision must be made by the European Union.
Earlier, media reports indicated that the EU is looking for a negotiator with Russia regarding the war in Ukraine: Merkel and Draghi are among the candidates.
What happened before?
- Earlier, Russian dictator Putin proposed the former German chancellor as a potential negotiator. However, the idea was quickly rejected in both Kyiv and Berlin.
- The Ukrainian side emphasizes that it does not consider such participation in the negotiations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has also confirmed this position.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s proposal to enlist former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a mediator in negotiations to resolve the war in Ukraine.
