NATO Chief Mark Rutte repeated on Tuesday that the consensus needed for Ukraine to join the alliance is not there at the moment.

“When it comes to the question on the 28 point plan. I mean, we have moved on, and the 28 point plan was this original plan. I think all these negotiations always start with an initial draft. Otherwise, you cannot start the process. But we have moved on. We have had, as I said, and you know, Geneva, we have had the meeting in Miami, and, of course, today talks taking place in Russia. This specific question on a membership of NATO for Ukraine. I think it’s important to maybe separate the principle from the practical.

The practical situation is, as you know, that there is consensus required by all Allies for Ukraine to join NATO. And right now, as you know, there is no consensus on Ukraine joining NATO. When it comes to the principle, that’s that Washington Treaty in 1949, and the Washington Treaty still stands. And also, what we decided in the Washington Summit in 2024”, - said Mark Rutte.