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The NATO Secretary General said that Putin made a serious mistake by sending a lower-level delegation to Istanbul to negotiate with Ukraine

Mark Rutte demanded that the Russian leader be “serious about wanting peace.” He also considered that now Moscow will have more pressure to resolve the situation

The NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, said this Friday that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is making a “big mistake” by sending a lower-level delegation to Turkey to negotiate with Kiev and is confident that the Russian is aware that “the ball is in his court”; while praising the leadership taken by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

“He knows perfectly well that the ball is in his court, that he is in trouble, that he has made a big mistake by sending a low-level delegation,” the Dutch politician summarized in statements to the press in Tirana, upon his arrival at a summit of leaders of the European Political Community (EPC).

The head of the Alliance has insisted that Putin must “be serious about wanting peace” and, for that reason, has stated that “now all the pressure is on Putin” and he is aware of what the international expectations are regarding the opportunity for talks between Moscow and Kiev to end the war.

In this context, Rutte, who said he knows the Russian leader “well” from the time he had to negotiate with him while being Prime Minister of the Netherlands, also highlighted Ukraine's willingness, which has indeed sent a delegation “that really wants to negotiate a ceasefire.”