The Dutch Prime Minister warns against naivety towards Putin and questions his willingness to negotiate. At the same time, he calls for stronger support for Ukraine on the battlefield and economically.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten declared on Thursday that we should not be naive towards Russian President Vladimir Putin. He stated this a day after several media reported on the alleged establishment of brief diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin by the office of the President of the European Council. TASR informs about it according to reports of the Euronews portal.
- Prime Minister Jetten warned against naivety towards Putin.
- According to him, the Russians are also losing the war economically.
- According to Jetten, supporting Ukraine is the best solution.
“The Russians are losing this war on the battlefield and economically. So I think the best thing we can do is support Ukraine and make sure they can continue to counterattack,” Jetten said before the start of the European Council meeting, adding that “there is no clear indication that Putin is really willing to engage in serious negotiations.”
The deal is far from over
At the same time, Jetten strongly rejected the Cyprus presidency’s proposal for the next long-term EU budget. It is expected that this will be one of the key topics of the summit. “It is not a proposal that we can take very seriously. I think we are very far from any agreement,” he added.
New Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs told journalists before the EU summit that Ukraine is “the one fighting for peace in Europe” and that it certainly deserved its place in the EU and NATO. He also commented on the discussion about the EU envoy in the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. “First of all, there must be someone on the other side who wants peace,” he explained, adding that “unfortunately, nobody wants peace on that side.”
