Rutte and Zelenskyy to discuss Ukraine's position and economy in Brussels

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have revealed ahead of talks in Brussels on Wednesday, 18 December that they will focus on strengthening Ukraine's position and the economy.

Source: Rutte and Zelenskyy at a briefing for journalists, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Rutte noted that he will first hold a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy in Brussels, after which other European leaders will join them.

"Very much high on the agenda is to make sure that the president and his team in Ukraine are in the best possible position one day when they decide so to start the peace talks," he said.

The NATO secretary general stressed that Western powers should now do everything they can to provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons systems, especially air defence assets.

"This will all be on the agenda, plus how to make sure that when peace comes one day, we also think about the economy of Ukraine, now but also after a future peace deal," Rutte added.

He cited Lithuania's initiative to purchase Ukrainian weapons as an example, noting that this should help strengthen Ukraine's defence sector and the economy as a whole.

Zelenskyy, for his part, said that the meetings in Brussels were "a very good opportunity to speak about security guarantees for Ukraine for today and for tomorrow".

He added that he would be working over the next two days in Brussels to form a "joint position of Europe on how to secure Ukraine, how to strengthen us, our people, citizens, civilians and, of course, our army".

Background:

• As previously reported, on Wednesday Zelenskyy will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who also plans to bring together the leaders of several European nations for a separate discussion on the situation in Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy has also confirmed that he will attend a meeting of the European Council on Thursday, 19 December.
• Media reports suggest that the topics of these meetings may include a potential "ceasefire" in Ukraine and the deployment of European troops there.

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