Wilders and Zelenskyy discuss Ukraine war, pathway to peace, Nord Stream explosion

PVV leader Geert Wilders met with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday. Among other things, they discussed the war, possible peace talks, and the attack on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Wilders said on X.

“I just met with the President of Ukraine about the terrible war in his country and the support of the Netherlands,” the notoriously pro-Russian PVV leader, wrote on X. “But we also talked about the corruption in Ukraine, the chance of peace and the conditions for it, the Nord Stream issue and the Ukrainian men who stay in the Netherlands instead of helping in Ukraine.” He called it a “good conversation.”

The far-right Dutch politician met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of an economic conference in Cernobbio, Italy. According to Parool, Wilders arranged the meeting on his own initiative and the Caibnet was unaware that it was happening.

In the past, Wilders has been very vocal about supporting Russia. He did condemn the invasion of Ukraine but has always been against the Netherlands' military support for the country. Continued support was a great concern after Wilders’ PVV won the parliamentary election in November and during the subsequent coalition talks.

The PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB coalition did agree to continue support for Ukraine, but Wilders continues to express criticism. For example, he said that the Netherlands' relationship with Ukraine should be reassessed if Ukraine had a hand in the attack on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in 2022.

He also posted a snide comment on X after Prime Minister Dick Schoof met with Zelenskyy last week. “Did you also discuss the persistent corruption there, Prime Minister? Or did you just bring money?” And after Schoof reaffirmed support for Ukraine at a NATO summit, Wilders wrote on X that the Prime Minister should “quickly get to work for the needs of our own Dutch population.”

According to Parool, the other coalition parties and part of the Cabinet are annoyed that Wilders did not inform them about the meeting with Zelenskyy. They feel that Wilders is getting in the way of the Cabinet and especially the Minister of Foreign Affairs by organizing all kinds of talks on his own initiative, including with members of the Israeli government about the war in Gaza this summer.