NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that he allows the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war by the end of 2025. He said this in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais , commenting on the prospects for a peaceful settlement and the vision of the new US President Donald Trump.
When asked by journalists whether he believed the war could be ended by December next year, Rutte answered unequivocally:
"Of course. We all pray that this war will end as soon as possible. I want to do everything I can to help realize President Trump's vision for achieving this goal."
The Secretary General emphasized that he fully shares the White House's approach, because "the bloodshed must stop." He emphasized that the Russian army is suffering catastrophic losses:
• about a million soldiers killed or seriously wounded during the entire war,
• monthly losses — approximately 20,000 people.
"Can you imagine that? 20,000 soldiers a month. These are fathers and sons who die without conquering any territory," Rutte noted.
According to him, despite enormous human resources, this year Russia has only been able to capture about 1% of Ukrainian territory and is advancing "a few meters a day."
At the same time, he acknowledged that it is always difficult to make specific predictions, but he sincerely hopes for a speedy end to the war. In his opinion, the diplomatic path will require new meetings after the Geneva talks and parallel consultations with the EU and NATO.
"And we are not at that stage yet," the Secretary General added, emphasizing that the path to peace remains difficult, but realistic.
