NATO’s Mark Rutte praises Donald Trump’s revived Ukraine peace efforts as US envoy prepares to meet Putin amid ceasefire negotiations.
REYKJAVIK: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine on Thursday.
“There is tremendous renewed energy around the peace process, and for that I want to commend US President Trump,” Rutte told reporters during his Iceland visit.
The NATO chief made the comments after meeting with Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir.
A US-proposed ceasefire has revitalised negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, Washington and European officials.
Talks have spanned from Geneva to Abu Dhabi as parties work to iron out conditions.
Washington has not published its latest peace plan publicly.
Trump described the proposal as a “fine-tuned” update of a previous 28-point plan.
Kyiv and its European allies had firmly rejected the earlier proposal as a Kremlin wish-list.
The Kremlin now views some updated plan elements “positively” according to officials.
Russian representatives said other points still require further discussion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested the plan’s “principles” could lead to “deeper agreements”.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to visit Moscow next week.
Witkoff will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance the peace process. – AFP
