NATO Secretary Warns Against ‘Bad Peace Deal’ in Ukraine
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (2R). X/ @UATV_en
January 9, 2025 Hour: 9:30 am
‘The whole world is watching. We must not forget that there is a geopolitical context at play,’ Rutte said.
On Thursday, Mark Rutte, the secretary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), warned against reaching a poor peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
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He believes that Ukraine has not received sufficient Western support to be in a position of strength when negotiations occur. This, in turn, will influence the stance taken by Russia and its allies. Upon arriving at the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, in Germany, Rutte stated that the broader geopolitical context must be considered.
“The global context is that we must place Ukraine in the best possible position so that, when negotiations begin at Ukraine’s initiative to resolve this conflict, they are in the strongest position to do so,” emphasized the Dutch official.
“And when those negotiations end, it will become clear whether a good agreement has been reached or not. If it is not a good agreement, it will be closely observed by the Chinese, North Koreans, Iranians, and, of course, Russia,” he explained.
“The whole world is watching. We must not forget that there is a geopolitical context at play. We must do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs in terms of training and equipment to sustain the fight and prevail in this struggle,” the NATO Secretary further explained.
To achieve this, burden-sharing among partners is essential—a topic also addressed during Thursday’s discussions in Ramstein. Rutte highlighted Germany as an example, noting that it has provided nearly 30 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine.
On Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced an additional US$500 million package of military aid to Ukraine. “It includes additional missiles for Ukrainian air defenses, more ammunition, and more air-to-ground munitions and other equipment to support Ukraine’s F-16s,” he said at the opening of the meeting in Ramstein.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
