New NATO Chief Wants Less Talk About Peace And More Weapons For Ukraine – OpEd

One example of Rutte’s combative rhetoric can be seen in comments he made during a press conference ahead of a meeting between NATO member state foreign ministers in which he called for less talk about the peace process. Let’s stop talking about peace “Let’s not have all these discussions step by step on what a peace process might look like,” Rutte said in front of reporters at what The Hill noted was the first full gathering of NATO member states since Donald Trump was elected. Give Ukraine what it needs “Make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to get to a position of strength when those peace talks start, when the Ukrainian government has decided they are ready to do so,” Rutte continued.

 But are the NATO chief’s remarks possible?  Trump has changed things According to The Hill, the election of Donald Trump back into office complicates future plans for Ukraine since the President-Elect has claimed on several occasions that he will put an end to the war within 24 hours of taking office.   Will Trump succeed? Whether or not Trump will succeed in his goal to quickly end the war has yet to be seen, but his election started a frenzy of discussion about peace talks in the media and even some public speculation from NATO leaders. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also recently shifted his tone on peace with Russia, signaling in a November 29th interview with Sky News that he was open to a ceasefire with Russia if Ukraine could join NATO. Making Ukraine a part of NATO “If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” he told Sky News. We need to do it fast” “We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way,” Zelensky added. However, he added that he needed a guarantee that Putin wouldn’t come back and try to take more Ukrainian territory. Feeding speculation about peace.

Zelensky’s comments only stoked speculation that the war might come to an end thanks to Trump, and whatever plan that he was going to put into motion to bring both parties to the negotiation table. But this hasn’t stopped Rutte from calling on NATO to do more. Getting more arms to Kyiv.  Rutte told reporters that NATO’s plan in the coming days would be to focus on how the alliance could “get more military aid into Ukraine, more missile defense into Ukraine.”  

Pledging to defend Ukraine. The NATO Secretary General also pledged that the defensive alliance would ensure the sovereignty of Ukraine on the battlefield as the war entered into another crucial winter that he noted would undoubtedly see more Russian attacks. Putin isn’t interested in peace.  “Putin is not interested in peace. He is pressing on, trying to take more territory, because he thinks he can break Ukraine’s resolve and ours,” Rutte said.  NATO has a duty to help Ukraine. “But he is wrong. Ukraine has a right to defend itself, and we have a duty to help them. So we need to continue our steadfast support,” Rutte added. What will happen next? How the winter will unfold and how the conflict might shift after Trump reassumes power on January 20th has yet to be seen, but the war could be entering a new phase in which the future of Ukraine is still unknown. 

Medvedev serves as Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and hasn’t been quiet about his dislike of Western assistance to Ukraine. However, his recent comments on his Telegram channel on November 12th were his most worrying remarks in weeks. Pushing an irreversible path. According to a translation of his comments from Reuters, Medvedev claimed European leaders were aiming to “push the conflict with Russia into an irreversible phase” while they still could by permitting Ukraine to use long-range missiles inside Russia. Long-range missiles can’t help. “It is clear that these missiles are not capable of changing anything significantly in the course of military operations,” Medvedev explained. He may have been responding to reports France and Britain were working to get Kyiv long-range missile use permission. Reacting to reports? On November 10th, The Telegraph reported UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanual Macron had planned a last-ditch attempt to convince US President Joe Biden that Kyiv should be allowed to use British Storm Shadow missiles in Russia. The outcome is unclear. The talks were set to take place on November 11th according to government sources who spoke with the Telegraph. However, it is unclear if this discussion happened or if it will eventually lead to Ukraine being allowed to use British missiles inside Russia. Reaffirming support for Kyiv. Reuters reported that Starmer and Macron reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and also urged their allies not to make assumptions about how Trump will handle the conflict in Ukraine once he takes office again. Reacting to the conflict. 

Medvedev appeared to be quite surprised about how European leaders were handling their reaction to the conflict in Ukraine and commented on their willingness to drag the continent into war in his November 12th Telegram comments. Dragging Europe into war. “Generally speaking, it is surprising to what extent the current generation of European politicians wants to drag the war into their territory”, Medvedev said. His remarks came amid a flurry of controversial statements Medvedev has made in recent weeks. Medvedev’s reaction to Trump’s election. Following Trump’s election win on November 5th, Medvedev claimed Trump would be bad news for Ukraine, suggesting that the president-elect’s business acumen was one attribute that would harm the Ukrainian cause. Trump can be useful for Russia. “Trump has one quality that is useful for us—as a businessman to the core, he hates spending money on … idiotic allies, stupid charity projects, and voracious international organizations,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram according to Newsweek.  

Warning of nuclear war. Just days before Trump won the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, Medvedev was in the headlines again for cautioning the United States to take the Kremlin’s nuclear warnings seriously if Washington wanted to avoid another World War. Russia would cross the nuclear line. While speaking with the Russian state broadcaster RT, Medvedev said it was wrong to believe that Russia “will never cross a certain line,” according to Sky News. The US and Europe lack foresight. Medvedev added that the US and European political establishment lacked the “foresight and subtlety of mind” displayed by Henry Kissinger. “We simply will not have any choice”. “If we are talking about the existence of our state, as the president of our country has repeatedly said, your humble servant has said, others have said, of course, we simply will not have any choice,” Medvedev said.    A key piece of Ukraine’s Victory Plan. The ability to use long-range missiles such as the British Storm Shadow is a key part of Ukraine’s recently unveiled Victory Plan. Kyiv believes bringing the war home to Russia will hasten the end of the conflict. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the US State Department and other American government entities of attempting to destabilize India. A group of investigative journalists and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi backed the statement, reports Reuters.  The allegations come as a surprise, given that New Delhi and Washington have forged strong ties over the past two decades. Both governments have pledged to further strengthen their relationship despite occasional differences. Gandhi’s Congress party leveraged articles by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which focused exclusively on the Adani Group and its alleged close ties to the government, to undermine Modi’s reputation. The Adani Group was established in the 1980s as a commodities trading firm. Last month, US authorities charged Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and seven others with participating in a scheme to bribe Indian officials with $265 million. The group called these accusations “baseless.” OCCRP’s articles also accused Indian state hackers of using Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to target government critics. The government previously denied both allegations.

CONCLUSION

Western countries are reportedly preparing a “golden exile” for President Volodymyr Zelensky in London following a “peace agreement” in Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, which cites “rumors” circulating among Ukrainian diplomats. The newspaper claims that Ukrainian diplomats believe Zelensky is expected to be sent to London while Ukraine gears up for presidential and parliamentary elections.  The term “golden exile” refers to a situation where a person, typically a politician or leader, is forced to leave their country in a way that ensures they live comfortably and safely in exile. This form of exile aims to provide him with security and stability while Ukraine prepares for elections and focuses on rebuilding the country. Western troops to safeguard the agreement. Journalists noted that this plan also includes the swift admission of Ukraine to the European Union (EU) with guarantees of economic support for the country’s reconstruction and the deployment of European peacekeeping forces. This includes troops from the United Kingdom and France