NATO Secretary General says Zelenskyy should restore relations with Trump
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- Alona Kokhanchuk
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21:09, 01 March, 2025
NATO Secretary General Mark RutteNATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that yesterday's spat between Trump and Zelenskyy was «unfortunate» and they should improve their relations.
He said this in an interview with the BBC.
«I have already spoken to President Zelenskyy twice on the phone. I told him the following: we must stand together, the United States, Ukraine and Europe, to bring Ukraine to a lasting peace», Mark Rutte said.
The NATO Secretary General refused to disclose details of his talks with the Ukrainian president, including the details of the conversation between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Mark Rutte made it clear to Volodymyr Zelenskyy that «we really have to respect what President Trump has done for Ukraine», referring to the Javelin anti-tank missiles from the United States.
«So I told him that we really have to pay tribute to Trump for what he did then, for what America has done since then, and for what America is doing now», the NATO Secretary General added.
The dispute in the Oval Office
As a reminder, the meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, 28 February, was ended early. The conversation between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in the White House turned into a heated one.
According to CNN sources, after the public part of the conversation between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended, the American president and his advisers went into a separate room. It was then that Donald Trump finally decided that Volodymyr Zelenskyy «was not in the right place to negotiate», and instructed Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to convey the message that the Ukrainian president should leave.
In turn, after the failure to sign the US subsoil deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United States, President Trump and Congress.
In an interview with Fox News, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that such disputes are not good for both sides, but the President of Ukraine cannot «change our Ukrainian attitude towards the Russians» and does not want them to continue killing Ukrainians.
A number of European leaders, as well as American politicians, have expressed support for Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed Ukrainians and Zelensky on the social media platform X with the following words: «Dear Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian friends, you are not alone».
French President Emmanuel Macron also said that Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is a state that has been aggressed. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also expressed support for Kyiv, writing: «Ukraine, Spain is with you». President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addressed Volodymyr with the following words: «Be strong, be brave, be fearless».
Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said after the argument in the White House that it was time for Europe to unite around Ukraine and strengthen its defence without illusions about «Big Brother».
In his turn, the leader of the «Servant of the People» faction, David Arakhamiia , supported President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the White House dispute and stressed that the head of state wanted to put an end to the war.
After an altercation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump ordered the National Security Staff to check whether Washington could completely or temporarily stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.