Rutte values ​​US and European unity for security guarantees and suggests they will strengthen the Ukrainian army.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised this Friday the United States and Europe's commitment to a model of security guarantees to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from future aggression. He noted that the primary focus in the initial phase will be supporting the Ukrainian army and that the goal is to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Budapest Memorandum or the Minsk agreements.

During a trip to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the eve of Ukraine's National Day, NATO's political chief praised the United States' confirmation of its participation in future security guarantees for Ukraine. "Strong security guarantees will be essential, and that is what we are trying to define now," he stressed.

Thus, he emphasized the importance of Americans and Europeans, along with Ukraine, working together to provide security for kyiv once a ceasefire is reached. He explained that this step will serve to strengthen Zelensky's position in bilateral talks with Putin and ensure that Moscow is committed to a potential agreement and does not attempt to retake Ukrainian territory.

Regarding NATO's continued support, he emphasized that allies have already contributed $1.5 billion to the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which NATO coordinates following the agreement with the White House to maintain the supply of ammunition, missiles, and air defenses to Ukraine, funded by European allies.

THE FIRST LEVEL WILL BE THE UKRAINIAN ARMY

For Rutte, the first level of security guarantees must be based on supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces so that they "are as strong as possible" to defend the country. In a second phase, security guarantees "provided by Europe and the United States" will come into play, he stated, without offering further details on how the security model will work.

The former Dutch prime minister acknowledged that the Budapest Memorandum and the Minsk agreements did not provide such security guarantees to Ukraine, and noted that NATO allies "clearly know what should not happen."

Zelensky believes it is "crucial" that the US join security guarantees

For his part, Zelensky praised the US administration's move to support security guarantees, warning that without Washington, it would be nearly impossible to design a security framework for Ukraine after the war.

"Unity between Europe and the United States is crucial, it's very important, and that was an important signal that came through during our meetings," the Ukrainian president said, after starting the week with a meeting at the White House with Rutte and the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland, as well as EU President Ursula von der Leyen.

While acknowledging that many unknowns remain about how the war in Ukraine will end, Zelensky maintained that the situation in kyiv is "much better" than it was a week or two ago.

"That unity in Washington has emerged. For now, it's political, yes; only the first steps are being taken, as our teams are working on security guarantees, but it has been a very important signal from the United States and the president," he claimed.

Regarding the face-to-face meeting with Putin, the Ukrainian leader indicated that this meeting is "one of the elements to end the war" but insisted that what counts is Moscow's genuine will to end the aggression. In this regard, he lamented that the Kremlin continues to delay ending the war, and that Ukraine, in unity with the United States and Europe, must "reduce that room for maneuver" offered by the Russians to prolong the conflict.