Rutte backs 30-day Ukraine ceasefire as ‘wise plan,’ warns timing remains uncertain
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A 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine remains unpredictable and
depends on dialogue with Russia, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview
with Bloomberg
on March 14.
According to the NATO chief, the fact that U.S. President
Donald Trump’s administration is “engaging in resolving” the war in Ukraine is
a positive sign.
“Obviously, the situation now is about dialogue with the
Russians to see where they stand on this issue. It will be a step-by-step
process that could unfold over the coming hours or days. So it’s very hard to
predict when this [30-day ceasefire] will happen, but I think this idea is a
very wise plan,” Rutte said.
The NATO chief added that a temporary ceasefire would also
provide an opportunity to assess future steps in greater detail.
In the same interview, Rutte said he believes that, in the
long term, relations with Russia should eventually be “normalized” once Russia’s
war against Ukraine is over.
U.S. ceasefire initiative in Ukraine
A 30-day ceasefire initiative was proposed by U.S.
representatives during talks with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine is willing to agree to a
temporary truce if Russia consents. The United States will convey
the proposal to the Russian side “through multiple channels,” said
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A plane carrying Trump’s special envoy for Middle Eastern
affairs, Steve
Witkoff, has already landed in Moscow. The White House said Witkoff plans
to meet with dictator Putin to discuss the ceasefire in Ukraine.
On March 13, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria
Zakharova said the Kremlin is willing to discuss the U.S. and Ukraine’s
ceasefire initiatives. According to her, contacts with the American side “could
take place as early as today.”
Also on March 13, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said the proposed
U.S.-Ukraine ceasefire is “nothing more than a respite for Ukrainian
troops” and claimed that steps resembling peace efforts are not what Russia
needs.
According to Ushakov, Russian authorities allegedly “seek a
long-term peaceful settlement” that must account for the “interests and
concerns” of the aggressor state.
He added that Vladimir Putin could provide “more specific
and meaningful assessments” regarding the proposed temporary ceasefire in
Ukraine on March 13.
Meanwhile, Andrii Kovalenko, head of the National Security
and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, emphasized that Ushakov’s
remarks are not yet an official Russian rejection, as decisions there are made
by Putin.
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