Merz chimed in that Zelenskyy had to be “extremely careful in the coming days.”
“They are playing games, both with you and with us,” Merz said, seemingly referring to Washington’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — the son-in-law of American President Donald Trump — who spent five hours locked in talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
Merz’s spokesperson Stefan Kornelius told POLITICO: “As a matter of principle, I do not confirm or comment on snippets of conversation.”
Finland’s Stubb seemed to agree with Merz, according to the transcript. “We cannot leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone with these guys,” he said, apparently referring to Witkoff and Kushner, which attracted agreement from Rutte.
“I agree with Alexander — we must protect Volodymyr [Zelenskyy],” the NATO chief said. NATO declined to comment when reached by POLITICO.
The call took place after the Trump administration circulated a 28-point peace plan — reportedly drafted by the Kremlin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Witkoff and Kushner — that was criticized by Ukraine and European allies for being too favorable to Russia, and triggered frenzied negotiations in Geneva.