President Klaus Iohannis had an irritated reaction in Brussels on Wednesday to the convening of a meeting at the residence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where there would be discussions about the war in Ukraine, to which Romania was not invited. “I don’t think it’s a great solution to discuss these complicated matters in small groups,” the president said.
This evening, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his residence, along with leaders from Poland, Britain, France and Italy. The meeting comes as Europe looks for solutions to the war in Ukraine, including the possibility of sending European peacekeeping troops.
Asked in Brussels about this initiative initially discussed by Emmanuel Macron and Donald Tusk, President Klaus Iohannis said he did not want to express any opinion, since “it was not discussed with me.”
“Regarding the sending of troops, it was not discussed with me, so I am not giving you any opinion. If this option is circulated at the level of the European Commission or NATO in a toto format, then Romania will present an opinion. It cannot be a topic that can be treated in passing. It is an extremely complex issue and with an extraordinary weight,” declared Klaus Iohannis.
The president criticized the decision not to invite Romania to these discussions.
“I know about this meeting, I knew from the start. I don’t know who summoned the summoned states, or who didn’t summon others, it seems a bit unusual to me because we in NATO work by consensus, neither in small groups nor in small churches. But we will know what was discussed and at the appropriate time we will have an official position. I don’t think it’s a great solution to discuss these complicated matters in small groups,” Kalus Iohannis declared.
European states discuss the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine
European states are discussing the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or a peace agreement between Kiev and Moscow, while US President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear that he will not send troops to guarantee Ukraine’s security, Reuters writes on Wednesday, according to Agerpres.
The discussions, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, are at a preliminary stage, but have already revealed divisions among participants over the mandate and objectives of such a mission and even the advisability of addressing this topic now.
Although the Ukrainian army is on the defensive and losing ground to the Russian one, European leaders are trying not to give Russian President Vladimir Putin the impression that they believe the time has come for peace negotiations and that he can keep the conquered Ukrainian territory. Thus, European leaders insist that their priority remains the continuation and intensification of military and economic aid to Ukraine and say they see no sign that the Kremlin leader would be willing to negotiate.
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