On a January day, with the war in Ukraine approaching its third year, NATO's Mark Rutte told European lawmakers that Kyiv is not yet where it needs to be to sit down with Moscow. Outgoing US president Joe Biden, weeks from handing power to Donald Trump, argued that the West cannot abandon Ukraine and has laid groundwork for a just settlement. Both men speak from the same conviction that a peace which lasts must be built from strength, not from exhaustion. The question hanging over the moment is whether that strength can be built before the next chapter of diplomacy begins.
Nato's Rutte: Ukraine Must Gain 'Position of Strength' Before Peace Talks With Russia
Russia's invasion has run nearly three years, with ongoing fighting around Pokrovsk cutting supply routes to Ukrainian forces.
Peace will not last if Putin gets his way, Rutte argued.
Mark
Rutte says Ukraine isn't ready to negotiate. What exactly is he saying?
Mimi
That talks now would happen from weakness. He wants the war's trajectory changed first, so Kyiv arrives with leverage, and he argues a peace that rewards Putin won't last.
Luke
Worth noting that's his view, not a measured fact. The reporting gives us his statement, not a metric for what "strength" means.
Mark
And Biden's message is similar?
Mimi
Same direction. He says the US and allies can't walk away, and that his administration laid a foundation for Trump to help Ukraine reach a just end.
Luke
"Laid the foundation" is Biden's framing of his own record. Whether Trump builds on it is unknown; nothing here says what he'll do.
Mark
Where does Slovakia fit in?
Mimi
Ukraine cut off the cheap Russian gas crossing both countries. Fico wants talks quickly, Zelenskyy told him to come to Kyiv Friday, and Fico faces protests at home after meeting Putin.
Luke
The Kremlin's claim of an attempted drone attack on TurkStream is Russian state media reporting Moscow's allegation. It isn't independently confirmed here.
Mark
And Pokrovsk?
Mimi
Russian forces are going around it and targeting the highway to Dnipro, which supplies the whole region.
Luke
That account comes from one Ukrainian army spokesperson via AP, so treat it as a Ukrainian description of Russian intent.
O Pulso
- Rutte bluntly declares that Ukraine is not yet in a position to negotiate with Russia, shifting the debate toward what must change on the battlefield first.
- Biden warns that the US and its allies 'can't walk away' even as his term ends, leaving a fragile handover to an incoming Trump administration.
- Russian forces are bypassing Pokrovsk and aiming at the highway to Dnipro, threatening the supply line that sustains Ukrainian defenders across the region.
- A gas dispute drags Slovakia into the fight, with Prime Minister Fico under street pressure at home after his Moscow visit and Kyiv and Bratislava trading invitations.
- The Kremlin accuses Kyiv of 'energy terrorism' over an alleged drone attack near the TurkStream pipeline, hardening rhetoric as talks remain out of reach.
On a January day, with the war in Ukraine approaching its third year, NATO's Mark Rutte told European lawmakers that Kyiv is not yet where it needs to be to sit down with Moscow. Outgoing US president Joe Biden, weeks from handing power to Donald Trump, argued that the West cannot abandon Ukraine and has laid groundwork for a just settlement. Both men speak from the same conviction that a peace which lasts must be built from strength, not from exhaustion. The question hanging over the moment is whether that strength can be built before the next chapter of diplomacy begins.
On Monday, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte told EU lawmakers something many in the room may have feared to hear said aloud: Ukraine is not yet there. It cannot negotiate from strength, he said, and so the task is to change the course of the war so that Kyiv can reach a stronger position. For Rutte, peace only holds if it is not simply the pause before Putin presses on again.
The timing sharpens every word. Donald Trump takes office next week, having promised on the campaign trail a quick end to the fighting. Joe Biden, on his way out, made a parallel case: the United States and its allies cannot walk away. He recalled that Putin once expected to overrun Ukraine within days, and said the groundwork has been laid so that the new administration can help Ukraine eventually negotiate a just end. Ukraine, he insisted, remains free and has a bright future, and Putin has failed in his aims, though there is more to do.
Far from the front, a quarrel over gas has pulled in Slovakia. Ukraine has stopped the cheap Russian gas that crosses its territory toward western Europe, and Prime Minister Robert Fico has answered with calls for quick talks and an invitation to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who suggested Fico come to Kyiv instead. Fico's own standing is shaky after a December trip to meet Putin, which drew anger in Brussels and thousands of protesters in the streets under the banner "Slovakia is Europe."
Moscow, for its part, accused Kyiv of "energy terrorism" over an alleged drone attack on infrastructure linked to the TurkStream pipeline. Meanwhile at Pokrovsk, Russian troops are going around the town, aiming at the highway to Dnipro that keeps Ukrainian forces supplied. On day 1,056 of the war, the open question is whether Ukraine's position can shift before any talks begin.
On Monday, speaking to EU lawmakers, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte gave a blunt assessment of where Ukraine stands ahead of any peace talks. "At this moment, clearly Ukraine is not there," he said, because it cannot negotiate from a position of strength. His remedy was to do more to change the trajectory of the conflict so that Kyiv can reach that position.
The timing matters. Donald Trump will be sworn in as US president next Monday, having vowed on the campaign trail to bring a swift end to Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. Rutte said everyone wants the war to end, but above all wants peace to last. In his view, peace will not last if Putin gets his way, because he would press ahead. He said he was convinced a lasting peace is only possible if Ukraine comes to the table from strength.
The outgoing president, Joe Biden, made a parallel argument the same day as he prepares to hand over power. The United States and its allies, he said, "can't walk away" from Ukraine. He noted that at the start of the war Putin expected Russian forces to defeat Ukraine within days, an assessment US and European intelligence officials shared. Instead, Biden said, his administration and its allies have laid the foundation for the Trump administration to help Ukraine eventually reach a point where it can negotiate a just end to the nearly three-year-old conflict.
Biden said Ukraine remains a free and independent country with the potential for a bright future, and that Putin has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives. But, he added, there is more to do.
Elsewhere, a dispute over gas has drawn in Slovakia. Ukraine decided to cut off the cheap Russian gas that flows through both countries to western Europe. Slovak prime minister Robert Fico responded by calling for negotiations as soon as possible and inviting Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Slovakia. Zelenskyy countered that Fico could come to Kyiv on Friday instead.
Fico is already under pressure. His trip to Moscow before Christmas to meet Putin angered EU countries and prompted protests at home. On Friday, thousands of Slovaks took to the streets at a rally called "Slovakia is Europe" to protest the journey and his friendly ties with the Kremlin.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, accused Kyiv of "energy terrorism", citing what Moscow described as an attempted drone attack on infrastructure for the TurkStream pipeline, which carries Russian gas to Europe via Turkey. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it a continuation of a line Kyiv has pursued for a long time "under the curation of its overseas friends", according to Russian state news agencies.
On the battlefield, a Ukrainian army spokesperson, Maj Viktor Trehubov, told the Associated Press that Russian forces were bypassing the logistics hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which they have fought for months to capture. Ukrainian defenders have held them at bay, so the Russians are going around the town and aiming at the highway linking it to the central city of Dnipro. That road is crucial for supplying Ukrainian forces across the region, and cutting it would severely weaken Pokrovsk.
This was day 1,056 of the war. With Trump's inauguration a week away, the gas dispute with Slovakia unresolved and the fight for the Pokrovsk supply route ongoing, the question is whether Ukraine's position changes before any talks begin.
Citações Notáveis
At this moment, clearly Ukraine is not there, because they cannot at this moment negotiate from a position of strength.— Mark Rutte, NATO secretary general
There is more to do, we can't walk away.— Joe Biden, US president
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em The Guardian ↗
Politics & Governance