North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks at a press conference following a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on April 4, 2025. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clarified here on Friday that Ukraine's potential NATO membership will not be included as part of any peace agreement. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
BRUSSELS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clarified here on Friday that Ukraine's potential NATO membership will not be included as part of any peace agreement.
Speaking at a press conference following a NATO foreign ministers meeting, Rutte reaffirmed that member states had agreed at last year's Washington summit that Ukraine's accession to the Alliance is "irreversible." However, he emphasized that there was never a promise to Ukraine to include NATO membership in any peace deal.
The two-day meeting also saw concerns raised over sweeping new U.S. tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide warned on Thursday that such tariffs could contradict NATO's founding principles. He suggested that economic measures undermining trade among NATO allies risk weakening the alliance as a whole. ■
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks at a press conference following a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on April 4, 2025. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clarified here on Friday that Ukraine's potential NATO membership will not be included as part of any peace agreement. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
Photo taken on April 4, 2025 shows the NATO foreign ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte clarified here on Friday that Ukraine's potential NATO membership will not be included as part of any peace agreement. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte (C) speaks at the NATO foreign ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on April 4, 2025. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clarified here on Friday that Ukraine's potential NATO membership will not be included as part of any peace agreement. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
