Rutte and Duda urged Zelensky to "make peace" with Trump

NATO chief Mark Rutte has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage with the US administration. According to the BBC and CGTN America, Rutte said he spoke twice with Zelensky after his talks with US leader Donald Trump. He said it was important to find a way to restore a working relationship with Washington after a tense moment in the White House.

'I told him that we have to stick together - the US, Ukraine and Europe - to ensure a lasting peace for Ukraine,' the NATO secretary-general said.

He said Zelensky should find ways to mend relations with Trump after what happened in the Oval Office.

Rutte recalled that during Trump's first cadence, the US authorised the sale of Javelin APCs to Ukraine, which later played an important role in deterring the Russian army in the first stages of a full-scale war in February 2022.

Polish President Andrzej Duda took a similar stance. He called the results of the meeting between Zielenski and Trump in the White House "deadlocked" and advised to "return to the negotiating table".

Duda also emphasised that he "sees no other force in the world, except the US, which could stop Russian aggression". He also expressed hope that this policy would eventually "put an end to it."

We need to get back to the negotiating table. President Zelensky should sit down with him and negotiate a solution that makes Ukraine safe. We care about peace, because this is also our interest," Duda summarised.

We will remind, on 28 February in Washigton Zelensky argued with Trump live on air. It ended with the Ukrainian president leaving the White House without signing the mineral agreement for which he came and without coming to an agreement with the American leader on the terms of a possible peace agreement with Russia.