By Janet Ekstract
İSTANBUL- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte emphasized his country’s support for Ukraine after a joint news conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Rutte commented: “Every effort must be made to defuse escalation and tension. I believe that the only solution to de-escalation is diplomacy.” Rutte echoed what UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday during his press conference with Zelensky. Johnson had remarked that diplomacy is the path and he was meeting with Putin on Wednesday in Moscow to that end.
Meanwhile, Rutte said: “The Netherlands is very clear that further aggression against Ukraine will have serious consequences. In the EU we are working in partnership with the United States to prepare a strong package of sanctions. The Netherlands will support Ukraine as soon as it can. We say that we offer our help, in particular, in repelling cyberattacks.” The Netherlands is the second largest investor in Ukraine and on Tuesday in his press conference with Zelenksy, Johnson said the UK is providing 88 million pounds to Ukraine for energy, cybersecurity and infrastructure.
The US was in Ukraine with a high-level American delegation that met in Kyiv several days ago to show solidarity with Ukraine and was led by Atlantic Council Eurasia Center Senior Director and former US ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst in coordination with the Yalta European Strategy and Victor Pinchuk Foundation. He was accompanied by a large contingent of high-level ambassadors, organization deputy directors and former commanders and generals.
The delegation met with Zelensky and high-level Ukrainian government officials and politicians. The roundtable discussion was focused on the agenda, “How to support Ukraine and deter Kremlin aggression.” The event was a chance for delegation members and fellow participants from the world of Ukrainian politics, business and civil society to exchange ideas on the current security crisis precipitated by Russia’s menacing military buildup to the north, east and south of Ukraine. In the latest developments, US satellites show an even greater amassing of troops along Ukraine’s border which is reported to have at least 140,000 troops and additional troops at the border with Belarus
