NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that russian dictator vladimir putin's refusal to hold direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a missed opportunity.
Rutte made the corresponding statement during a press conference on Thursday, May 15.
According to him, Western countries initiated the creation of a "Coalition of the Willing" to ensure the strength and duration of a possible ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and russia.
Rutte noted that the West is not going to allow a repeat of the situation, as was the case with the Minsk Agreements, which, as he recalled, were violated almost immediately after their conclusion.
"Russia is now sending a low-level delegation and is missing the opportunity that President Zelenskyy offered," Rutte said.
The NATO Secretary General added that Ukraine is "ready to play," but now "the ball is in russia's side." He did not specify what exactly these words meant.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, yesterday, May 14, the composition of the russian delegation was published on the Kremlin website, based on which it became clear that russian dictator putin refused to go to Turkey to meet with Zelenskyy.
Later, it became known that US President Donald Trump is also not going to go to Istanbul. According to him, this is why putin refused to go to the talks.
As a reminder, analysts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggested that russia may demand from Ukraine at the talks in Istanbul.
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