NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte voiced support on Sunday for President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that is scheduled for later this week.
Rutte appeared on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” and said that Trump “broke the deadlock” and opened Putin to peace negotiations. In response to a question from host Margaret Brennan that compared the Trump-Putin meeting to appeasement of the Nazis in 1938, Rutte said Friday’s meeting will be about “testing” how serious Putin is about a ceasefire or an end to the war in Ukraine.
“Obviously, when it comes to peace talks, the ceasefire, and what happens after that on territories, on security guarantees for Ukraine, Ukraine will have to be and will be involved,” Rutte said. “But on Friday, it is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump.”
“It’s really crucial that a meeting takes place,” he continued. “It is important to start the next phase of this process, putting pressure on the Russians exactly as President Trump has been doing over the last six months.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says President Trump “will test” Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska this Friday.
“It is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump,” he says, though he adds that “there… pic.twitter.com/V4q1B7VgJE
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 10, 2025
Putin has reportedly told the Trump administration that Russia would end the war if Ukraine ceded control of its eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russia largely controls though Ukraine’s military is fighting back in some spots. Putin also demanded recognition of Russian control of the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
On Friday, Trump said that a peace between Ukraine and Russia could involve “some swapping” of territories, a suggestion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flatly rejected on Saturday.
“Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” said Zelensky, according to The New York Times.
“Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace,” Zelensky added in a video posted to Telegram. “They will bring nothing. These are dead decisions; they will never work.”
Ukrainian support for continuing the war against Russia has collapsed, according to a Gallup poll released last week. Support for finding a negotiated solution to end the war has surged to 69% up from 52% last year. Support to continue fighting dropped from 38% to 24% over the same period.