Ukraine summit: Rutte sees 'foolish' Putin peace proposal as a sign of panic

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "foolish peace proposal" to Ukraine on Friday shows that he is "clearly in a panic," outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland.

On the eve of the conference, Putin set conditions under which Russia would be prepared to discuss ending the war. Ukraine would have to renounce its NATO membership and withdraw from some Russian-occupied territories.

Russia was not invited to the peace summit near Lucerne. According to the host country Switzerland, this was because the Kremlin had repeatedly made it clear that it was not interested and would ignore an invitation anyway. Superpower China was also not taking part in the conference.

Rutte thinks it is a "mistake" that Putin does not want to come and talk and rejects rumors that the Russian head of state would visit North Korea. He pointed out that "half the UN" is represented in Switzerland and that many countries have delegated their heads of state and government.

Rutte emphasized on X that the summit sends a strong signal with many countries trying to find a path towards peace and security. Furthermore, the Ukraine summit also says to Russia "that a large number of countries are firm in their conviction that international law must be upheld," Rutte wrote.