““Let’s do it a little behind closed doors,” urged the NATO Secretary General”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
In an exclusive comment to VOA on December 13, Rutte said he preferred not to reveal the details of what could be a “strong deal” for Ukraine.
“Otherwise, I would make Putin more knowledgeable than you would like him to be. Why are these conversations on television now? Let’s do it a little behind closed doors, because otherwise, when he sits down at the negotiating table, he will already know what we are going to do. So I’m a little hesitant to answer your question,” Rutte said.
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At the same time, the Secretary General assured that the support of Ukraine from many European countries is “unbreakable”:
“Ukraine’s support is unbreakable. From the side of my country – the Netherlands. But also look at what the Germans have already given Ukraine – 28 billion. Also the English, French and all of Europe – Danes, Scandinavians. I have to mention every country, Spain, every NATO ally. We are all with you. We want you to be in a strong position when it comes to negotiating your terms.”
Speaking about the possibility of a decrease in American support for Ukraine after the start of the term of office of the newly elected US President Donald Trump, the head of the alliance noted that the work with the future administration continues.
“We are working with the new administration (USA – ed.), and I think it’s important that when there is an agreement, it is strong,” he said.
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The Secretary General of the alliance is not the only high-ranking Western official who warns against excessively frank discussions of the situation in Ukraine, the supply of Western weapons and the details of security guarantees.
French President Emmanuel Macron in February of this year called not to rule out the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine, but refused to go into the details of such a deployment for the sake of greater “strategic uncertainty.”
British Defense Secretary John Gealy also noted in September that a public debate about specific military capabilities provided to Ukraine by Western partners is only useful to Russian President Vladimir Putin.