NATO Secretary General's Visit to the U.S.: Urging Support for Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit the U.S. on Thursday, April 24, to urge President Donald Trump's administration to refrain from pressuring Ukraine into accepting a "peace agreement" against its will.

Source: this information was reported by the Financial Times from three informed sources, as stated by "European Truth".

Details: According to FT, Rutte intends to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.

The NATO Secretary General will argue that a "peace agreement" cannot be reached without considering Ukraine's interests and could only strengthen Russia, say sources from the publication.

He will also emphasize that if Kyiv is forced to accept a "peace settlement" that primarily benefits Moscow, the security of all of Europe would be at risk, adds the Financial Times.

The key message is to make Americans understand what is at stake, said one NATO diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Additionally, Rutte will discuss how to best coordinate the transfer of a larger share of NATO's "defense" burden from the U.S. to European armed forces, sources told FT.

According to media reports, the Trump administration handed Ukraine a one-page document in Paris last week, presented as the "final proposal" for a peace settlement. Among other things, the U.S. is willing to recognize Russia's control over Ukrainian Crimea and ease sanctions against Moscow.

President Zelensky stated that Ukraine will not recognize the Russian occupation of Crimea, which is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory.

The Financial Times reports that some European officials fear that disagreements over the Trump administration's unilateral "peace agreement" project, which includes recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, could undermine transatlantic security and even derail the NATO summit at the end of June.