More bad news for Zelensky.
In a recent development, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that Ukraine’s long-cherished dream of joining the alliance is officially “off the table,” following former President Donald Trump’s decisive stance on the issue.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Rutte acknowledged that NATO is shifting focus away from Ukraine’s accession and instead preparing for an eventual normalization of relations with Russia.
When pressed on whether Trump had effectively pulled Ukraine’s NATO bid off the table, the Secretary General answered with a blunt “Yes.”
The admission came fresh off a White House meeting between Rutte and Trump on Thursday, where the two reportedly hashed out plans for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Ukraine.
It’s a bitter pill for Zelensky, who’s staked much of his leadership on aligning Kiev with Biden regime and the warmonger globalists—only to see that dream crumble.
Annmarie Hordern: You’ve heard from the Ukrainians, they want security guarantees. Did you get a sense from your meetings yesterday that the US is willing to do that?
Mark Rutte: The US is saying this. First, we need a peace deal, a ceasefire. The President is very clear on this, that obviously, there will be many issues to be discussed and debated when a ceasefire/a peace deal is there. But to discuss how to keep a peace deal, if there is not yet a peace deal, is also a bit strange. Of course, you have to think in parallel.
Annmarie Hordern: [Trump] already taken off Ukraine joining NATO off the table.
Mark Rutte: [Yes]
Annmarie Hordern: So Ukraine is left asking this question, how are we going to know we’re going to have proper security?
Mark Rutte: But he was also very clear, Pete Hegseth in Brussels, but also the President himself, that when there is a deal on Ukraine, it has to be lasting. It has to be durable. Putin should not have to try this again. So the question is then, how? How do you do this post a peace deal?
Then I would start with the President, you first need to have a peace deal before you can get into these details. Obviously, behind the scenes, there will be discussions on the “what if there is a peace deal, how then to maintain that.” But there are many ways to do that.
Annmarie Hordern: We know, of course, that the French—Will NATO be involved? Zelensky is calling for a monitoring mechanism coming from the alliance itself?
Mark Rutte: There are many ways to do this, but I think for NATO, NATO to be as NATO involved will be difficult. But NATO will maybe always advise and look into what is the best way to do this. But in the end, what we are seeing now is the French and the Brits and the Americans discussing how could you organize that. But again, I would caution a little bit that before you get into too much detail in terms of how to maintain the peace, you first need to have that deal. It is a step-by-step approach, and one after the other. There, I think, Trump is right.
WATCH:
Yesterday, NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, was in Washington meeting with Trump.
Today, Rutte is now confirming that NATO membership for Ukraine is off the table, and that relations with Russia need to be normalized post-war.
I don’t know what Trump told Rutte behind… pic.twitter.com/lya8zbxOK3
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) March 14, 2025
The NATO chief also signaled that the Alliance is already looking ahead to restoring relations with Russia after the war.
Annmarie Hordern: Before you were Secretary General of NATO, you ran a European country. Would you be willing to do business again with Russia after this? Because we are hearing reports of things like maybe gas deals come back into play.
Mark Rutte: Well, I’m not there because first of all, you have to maintain the pressure on the Russians to make sure that they do whatever is necessary. That’s why we have the sanctions. Let’s not be naive about the Russians. But longer term, Russia is there. Russia will not go away.
I’ve had many dealings with President Putin till 2014. In my first four years as Prime Minister, we had many negotiations. I think it is normal if the war would have stopped for Europe to somehow step by step and also for the US step by step to restore normal relations with the Russians.
We are absolutely not there yet. We have to maintain the pressure on them to make sure that they are willing to engage seriously in talks with the American administration, of course, also with the Ukrainians.
