Rutte on Ukraine's NATO membership: "Not part of a peace settlement, but a longer-term commitment "

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated that all NATO member states have agreed on Ukraine’s future membership and stressed that this issue cannot be part of peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.

As reported by Lithuanian Public Broadcaster LRT, Rutte’s statement came in response to Russia’s demand to stop NATO expansion in exchange for peace.

"When it comes to Ukraine, in Washington, there was a clear commitment by all 32 allies that it is an irreversible path for Ukraine to come into NATO. Not with an end date, not understanding this as part of a peace settlement, but clearly as a longer-term commitment by 32 allies, and we are building that bridge as we speak," Rutte said during a summit of the Bucharest Nine and Nordic countries. 

In an interview with ABC News, Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, stated that the United States considers Russia’s concerns about NATO expansion fair and is ready to discuss the matter.

"And they're not just talking Ukraine – they're talking the country of Georgia, they're talking Moldova, they're talking, obviously, Ukraine," Kellogg noted. "And we're saying 'Okay, comprehensively, you know, we can stop the expansion of NATO coming close to your border'. That's security concerns from them."

The Kremlin welcomed Kellogg’s statement.