Rutte: The Status of Ukrainian Territories Will Have to Be Discussed

When discussing the terms of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, it will be impossible to avoid the topic of the future of Ukrainian territories currently controlled by Russia. This opinion was expressed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in an interview with the American television channel ABC News. “If it comes to full-scale negotiations – and let’s hope that on Friday (August 15 – Ed.) an important step will be taken in this process… the discussion will be about territories,” he noted, as reported by dw.com. “Of course, it will be about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to recognize that Ukraine makes its own decisions about its future –that Ukraine must be a sovereign country deciding on its geopolitical future, naturally without restrictions on the level of its own armed forces,” Rutte added. “And that NATO should have no restrictions on its presence on the eastern flank.” As noted on the ABC News website, the NATO Secretary General also acknowledged the reality that Russia controls certain territories belonging to Ukraine. “The question now will be how to move forward after a ceasefire, including in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine,” Rutte emphasized in this regard. “When it comes to the whole issue of territories – when it comes to recognizing, for example, that Russia de facto, in practice, controls certain territory of Ukraine – this should be a factual acknowledgment, not a political de jure recognition,” he explained. As an example of such a situation, he cited the West’s attitude toward the fact that the Baltic states were for decades effectively controlled by the USSR. Speaking about the anticipated meeting between Putin and Trump in Alaska, Rutte called it a kind of “test” of how serious the Russian leader’s intentions are regarding ending the war in Ukraine.