Rutte on U.S. peace work Putin must join negotiations

Jun 23

The anchor and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte describe continued U.S. work toward a Ukraine peace agreement. Rutte names Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Marco Rubio as working on the deal, but says it can succeed only if Putin is willing to join and cooperate. He says Putin has so far repeated maximalist demands. The report establishes this assessment, not a new agreement, accepted negotiating timetable or Russian concession.

In the June 23 Fox interview, Rutte argues that Ukraine is doing well and that battlefield losses, refinery strikes and economic pressure are hurting Russia. He estimates 30,000–35,000 Russians killed or seriously wounded monthly, almost half the Russian state budget spent on defense and three quarters of tax income going to defense. He credits Trump's February 2025 reopening of talks and says Witkoff, Kushner and Rubio are seeking a peace deal. He says a deal requires Putin to cooperate and that Putin has so far repeated maximalist demands. These are Rutte's estimates and assessment; no Russian acceptance, ceasefire or peace deal is announced.