US Peace Talks With Russia Will Not Exclude NATO, Rutte Says

US negotiations with Russia over a plan to end its war in Ukraine will not make unilateral decisions about NATO's future, Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

Instead, those issue will be settled in another channel, Rutte told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday, ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting on Wednesday.

"When it comes to the NATO elements of a deal to end the war against Ukraine, that will be dealt with separately and that obviously will include NATO," he said. But Rutte declined to confirm whether another forum existed already, only saying he was "closely coordinating" with the US.

Rutte's comments come as a US delegation arrives in Moscow for negotiations over a potential plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine. US envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, following discussions over the weekend between the US and Ukrainian officials.

The US push has forced NATO into existential discussions about its own future. Throughout the talks, Washington has unilaterally floated ideas that would alter the military alliance's foundation — offering to restrict NATO expansion, shift European forces and alter the transatlantic security arrangement.

"There are some items of the peace plan that need to rest with other organizations, including NATO," Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Tuesday in a Bloomberg TV interview.

NATO allies were hoping to hear from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday about the negotiations, according to people familiar with the matter, but the US diplomat is skipping the meeting.

Rutte insisted that he's in "constant contact" with Rubio. "I totally accept him not being able to be here."

Still, NATO leaders are wary that Washington will ignore the military alliance and pressure Ukraine to accept Russia-friendly concessions. They were startled last month when a US-drafted peace plan suggested Ukraine concede Russian-desired territory, cap its military and never join NATO.

Those demands have since been revised or dropped after US discussions with Ukrainian and European officials. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the latest version "looks better."

Rutte agreed, saying that officials have "moved on" from the early plan and dropped the more contentious proposals.

"You need to start somewhere, you need to have proposals on the table," he said, praising the US effort.

Putin has signaled an openness to the talks, saying the US plan could be "the basis for future agreements," while adding that no final version exists. Yet the Russian leader has given no indication he will roll back demands for territory or NATO constraints.

To address NATO members' anxieties, Rutte called an extraordinary meeting of the alliance's political decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, where ambassadors aired their fears and got a readout on the negotiations. Concerns included potential territorial concessions and security guarantees for Ukraine, said the people familiar with the matter.

The meeting was also meant to start a discussion about what any peace plan would mean for NATO, the people added, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Rutte has been in frequent contact with the US and President Donald Trump, according to European diplomats, representing Europe's views. Allies are also being encouraged to keep contributing to a program allowing NATO allies to purchase US-made weapons for Ukraine, the people said.

Separately, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will brief allies on the negotiations on Wednesday.

"In the end we need two to tango," Rutte said. "We also need Russia to tango. That's being tested at the moment."

Source: Bloomberg Europe