NATO Secretary General Rutte says Trump-Putin summit is about 'testing Putin' [View all]

Source: ABC News

August 10, 2025, 12:53 PM


NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Friday's summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska will be an important test in ending the war in Ukraine.

"Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end," Rutte told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

"When it comes to full-scale negotiations, and let’s hope that Friday will be an important step in that process. ... It will be about territory. It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future -- of course having no limitations to its own military troop levels. And for NATO, to have no limitations on our presence on the eastern flank," Rutte added.

"The president wants to end this. He wants to end the terrible loss of life," Rutte said. The NATO chief also acknowledged the reality that Russia is in control of some of Ukraine's prewar territory.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nato-secretary-general-rutte-trump-putin-summit-testing/story?id=124520882