MP's blocked Rutte from attending Zelenskyy address to parliament

Prime Minister Mark Rutte wanted to attend the speech that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will give to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, on Thursday. But the Kamer blocked his attendance. "The Kamer said: we really want to do this as the Kamer," Rutte said in a Q&A on Instagram on Monday. "So I'm not going to be there."

Rutte is Prime Minister and, therefore, a member of the Cabinet, not of the Tweede Kamer. He has spoken with Zelenskyy himself a few times. On Thursday, Zelenskyy will address the Tweede Kamer via video link. Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs will be present at the address, said a spokesperson of his Ministry.

Immediately after the address, the Kamer will debate Zelenskyy's speech. Hoekstra will also attend the debate. The idea to have Zelenskyy address the lower house of the Dutch parliament came from the Ukrainian ambassador in The Hague. The Netherlands is one of the countries supplying arms to Kyiv but also one of the countries against Ukraine's accelerated candidacy for EU membership.

President Zelenskyy has addressed several parliaments over the past weeks, including those of the United States, Great Britain, France, Israel, Germany, and the European Parliament. He hopes to build more support for Ukraine's fight against Russia.