NATO chief proposes to make negotiation process between Ukraine and Russia non-public

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte believes that public discussion of the details of a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia to end the war could harm the agreement itself. He said this in an exclusive commentary for the Voice of America.

Speaking about the possible negotiations, he stressed that European countries remained Ukraine's allies and were interested in a "strong agreement" for Ukraine. He did not speak about its details, but indicated that some part of it must be unexpected for Putin.

Otherwise, I would make Putin more aware than you would want him to be. What's this talk for now? Let's do it behind closed doors, because otherwise, when he sits down at the negotiating table, he will already know what we are going to do," Rutte said.

At the same time, the NATO secretary-general emphasised that the allies continue to provide assistance to Kiev.

Look what the Germans have already given to Ukraine - 28 billion. Also the British, the French and all of Europe - the Danes, the Scandinavians. We are all with you. We want you to be in a strong position when it comes to negotiations on your terms," he said speaking to Ukrainian journalists.

He also added that work with the US administration and negotiations on the continuation of military aid to Kiev were ongoing and also warned against publicly discussing all the aid provided to Ukraine.

Earlier, UK Defence Secretary John Gillie said that a public debate on specific military capabilities provided to Ukraine by Western partners was useful only for Russian President Vladimir Putin.