NATO Chief Travels to Mar-a-Lago to Hold Ukraine Peace Talks With Trump
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has traveled to South Florida to meet with President-elect Trump and discuss a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine War. Rutte flew on a Dutch government plane, as NATO officials often rent planes from NATO allies. The plane reportedly touched down Friday morning near Mar-a-Lago.
The talks come days after Joe Biden’s post-election Ukraine policy decisions have gravely escalated the conflict.
Ukraine fired U.S. longer-range missiles into its territory for the first time on Tuesday, prompting Russia’s Defense Ministry to warn it would “react accordingly.”
On Thursday, Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into Ukraine for the first time, reportedly targeting “enterprises and critical infrastructure in the east-central city of Dnipro.”
European leaders are now having to make the transition from dealing with Ukraine war hawk Biden and the more dovish Trump.
“Former Dutch prime minister Rutte is widely seen as being one of the most successful EU leaders in dealing with Trump during his first time as U.S. president,” according to Reuters.
Ukrainian National News (UNN) reported that “European leaders have been in contact with Trump since his victory on November 5” and have been impressed that “the US president-elect is asking questions about Ukraine rather than making demands.”
An example is a call from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the weekend after Trump’s election. “What do you think of [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy’s victory plan? What do you think of Putin?” Trump asked, according to a senior German official familiar with the call.
The Europeans have collected notes on similar calls from the leaders of France, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and other countries. “The calls were more friendly than expected, and Trump was more of a listening person – well-prepared and not chatty,” said a German official.
These optimistic comments undoubtedly reflect Europe’s desire to develop a good working relationship with Trump in a time of crisis and turmoil, the journalist notes.
Several officials reportedly said that “Europe’s main representative in discussions with Trump is likely to be Mark Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister who is the new NATO secretary general.” Rutte has been called “Trump’s whisperer,” in part because he calmed the then-president after a tirade about NATO in 2018, agreeing that Trump was right to demand that allies spend more on defense.
A German official told UNN that Rutte’s message to the president-elect at the meeting Friday “will be that Trump’s interests and Europe’s interests are served by a ‘just and lasting peace,’ one that does not encourage Russian aggression and can provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine.”
Rutte also reportedly wants to discuss with Trump strategies to counter threats related to Russia’s cooperation with China, North Korea and Iran.
A German official predicted that Rutte and others will probably advise Trump to “remember that you need to decide on Ukraine in a way that does not come back to bite you during your term.”
According to UNN, a key provision of any potential peace deal would be that Ukraine’s security will be protected so “this war will never happen again.”
During a private meeting in Brussels earlier this week with NATO defense ministers, Rutte reportedly encouraged European leaders to engage with Trump. “Don’t gossip about Trump. Call him and get him on board,” Rutte advised, according an EU official who attended the meeting. “Make sure America stays on our side.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, Rutte has also called on European defense ministers “to significantly increase their defense spending above the target of two percent of gross domestic product.”