'Putin will never try again after this' — NATO chief has 'secret' ideas for Ukraine peace talks

NATO Chief Mark Rutte has said he has ideas about potential peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow that are a "little secret" but will ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin will "never try again" to conquer Ukraine.

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild published on Feb. 1, Rutte was asked if peace between the two countries was even possible.

"We must ensure that (Putin) can never, ever again conquer even one square kilometer of Ukraine," he replied, adding the most important thing for NATO to do right now is to support Kyiv with weapons and training for its soldiers.

He went on to say that if Ukraine decides to enter peace talks, it will then have to bring Putin to the negotiating table.

"I can't describe to you exactly how these talks will go," he said, adding: "I already have ideas about what this composition could look like. But we don't want to make Putin any smarter than he already is.

"We're making it a little secret. Only the end is certain — Putin will never try again after this."

Rutte did not elaborate further on his ideas.

He was also asked during the interview about the direction of the full-scale invasion, and if Ukraine along with its Western allies were losing given Russia's continued grinding advances in the Donbas.

"The front is moving in the wrong direction. But at what price?," he said, adding: "The Russians are paying for it with 1,000 to 1,500 people a day who are dying or seriously wounded. And yet the Russians are not achieving their goals.

"And our job is to ensure that they never achieve their goals. So no, Ukraine is not losing and we must support them in getting into a position of strength."

The comments come a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said that his team is already engaged in "very serious" discussions with the Russian side on how to end the war in Ukraine.

In response, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the AP that talks about the war that do not include Ukraine are "very dangerous."

"They may have their own relations, but talking about Ukraine without us — it is dangerous for everyone," Zelensky said

Zelensky said that the first step for Ukraine is to hold a high-level meeting with Trump, so that Kyiv and Washington can develop their own plans for a ceasefire. Then the parties can move on to discussions that involve Russia.

"I believe that, first and foremost, we (must) hold a meeting with (Trump), and that is important. And that is, by the way, something that everyone in Europe wants," Zelensky said.

Following the meeting, "we should move on to some kind of format of conversation with Russians," he added.

"And I would like to see the United States of America, Ukraine, and the Russians at the negotiating table. ... And, to be honest, a European Union voice should also be there. I think it would be fair, effective. But how will it turn out I don't know."