NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, on the sidelines of today’s gathering of NATO Foreign Ministers in Antalya, Türkiye, continued with the pretend game, that peace in Ukraine can be achieved without having to take any notice of Russia’s “root issues.” Assumedly, all Russian President Vladimir Putin has to do is to come to Istanbul and agree to a 30-day truce, while allowing the proxy war to be rearmed.
Rutte explained: “The Russians are sending a low-level delegation now and not taking up the opportunity [that] President Zelenskyy has been providing. He said: ‘I’m willing to sit with Putin; as soon as the ceasefire is there, we are willing to negotiate a peace deal.’ So Ukraine is clearly ready to play ball, but that ball is now in the Russian court.”
Spokeswoman of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova is not one to suffer fools lightly. At a time today when Zelenskyy had still not committed to send a delegation to Istanbul, Zakharova responded to Rutte: “We have not only the ball, but also the truth on our side. The problem is that no matter how much the NATO hooligans shout from the bench in order to score a goal, we need the Ukrainian team on the pitch.”
