NATO general secretary Mark Rutte said that Friday’s summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska will be an important proof to end war in Ukraine.
“Next Friday will be important because it will try to try Putin, how serious it is to put an end to this terrible war,” Routte told ABC News “This Week,” Jonathan Karl.
“WHEN IT COMES TO FULL-SCALAL NEGOTIONS, AND LET’S HOPAT THAT FRIDAY WILL BE AN IMPALTENT STEP IN THAT PROCESS. … IT WILL BE ABOUT TERRITORY. Own Future, that ukraine you have to be a Sovereign Nation, deciding on its geopolitical future – of Course Having no limitations to ITS OWN Military Military Troop Levels.
“The president wants to end this. He wants to put an end to the terrible loss of lives,” Routte said.
NATO general secretary Mark Rutte appears in “This Week” on August 10, 2025.
ABC News
The NATO chief also recognized the reality that Russia has control of some of the territory before the Ukraine War.
“The question will be how to advance beyond a high fire, including what it means in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said.
He continued: “When it comes to this whole issue of territory, when it comes to recognizing, for example, perhaps in a future agreement that Russia is de facto controlling, in fact, some of the territory of Ukraine, has to be an effective recognition and not a political recognition of jure.”
In recent days, Trump has suggested “some exchange of territories” as part of a possible peace agreement. But the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has rejected any Ukrainian territory, particularly the region of eastern Donbas, to cause a high fire, and urged that kyiv must be present in the negotiations. Several European nations say there should be no peace conversations without a present.
While Rutte sang the president’s praises regarding this next meeting, former Trump National Security Advisor, John Bolton, who also appeared in “This week,” criticized Trump’s approach to deal with Putin.
“I think Trump has already made some mistakes, the number one to celebrate this meeting on the American soil, legitimizing a Paria leader of the dishonest state. Secondly, he has allowed Putin to obtain the first -time advantage by putting his peace plan on the first table,” said Bolton.
Bolton added: “What Putin gets more than anything else is an opportunity, one in one, to try to make his magic work again with Trump, applying that KGB training. Either intentionally or involuntarily, he pushed Trump beyond what Trump wanted to be pushed. And you saw the reaction.
Here are more outstanding aspects of Rutte’s interview:
On whether there are risks of rewarding Russia with a summit
Karl: My next guest, Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton says that this meeting occurs at a very dangerous point for Ukraine, and fears that negotiations will slide in the direction of Russia. Is there the risk of something rewarding Russia for its invasion of Ukraine?
RUTTE: No, I don’t think the risk is there. And all my respect for John, and please send my best greetings. But I would not agree on this point with him. We have seen President Trump exercising incredible pressure on Russia. What happened last week, additional 25% tariffs in India, because we know that India is one of the largest oil buyers and other Russia material. And this has had a great impact potentially on the Indian economy, and this forces them to be much clearer with Moscow about what Putin will do when it comes to this war in Ukraine. But also the fact that it opened the gates again when it comes to lethal weapons that are delivered to Ukraine paid by Europeans, but delivered by the Americans. So this is clear evidence that President Trump is absolutely inflexible to end this war, but also to maintain maximum pressure on Putin.
The former Trump National Security Advisor, John Bolton, appears in “This week” on August 10, 2025.
ABC News
Here are more outstanding aspects of Bolton’s interview:
About Trump and Putin’s relationship
Bolton: I think he has climbed and going down, and certainly has been in a period of leave. That is what Putin wants to try and correct. I think that the Putin Plan, Zelenskyy will be put in a position in which something will be presented with which Trump feels very comfortable. And then you could be closer to where we were in February during the famous debacle in the Oval office with Zelenskyy. Therefore, it is not inevitable, but I think this is a very risky meeting from the perspective not only of Ukraine, but also of the Western Alliance.
About Trump’s strategy in Ukraine
Bolton: You know, ultimately, I don’t think negotiating under the circumstances presented to them. And I think we have gone through 3 and a half years here, where neither the United States nor NATO have had an effective strategy for Ukraine to win. We have spent a lot of time making sure that Russia does not lose. And I think that the danger with Trump’s current position is that, despite allowing the Patriots to deploy in Ukraine, he has not made any type of commitment to continuous military assistance, weapons, ammunition and the most critical intelligence.
In Trump’s international record
Bolton: I do not believe that what has done the situations materially change in any of those circumstances or in several others that has mentioned as Pakistan-India, where the Indians, not only the government, the whole country, were outraged because it tried to take credit for that. In Thailand-Cambodia, he simply threatened tariffs if they did not sign an agreement. They have signed a deal. Nothing has changed. And the true kicking in Azerbaikan-Armenia was the Russians who allowed Azerbaiyan to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh in the last year. So I think what Trump has done is to make it clear that he wants a Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else.
About Trump’s remuneration
Bolton: Well, I think it has already come to me several others to withdraw the protection we had, from the Iranians for the attack on Qassem Soleimani. So I think, and I said in the new striker to the edition of my book pocket, I think it is a presumed presidency.
