NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed on Thursday talks between the United States and Ukraine on resolving bilateral issues that were brought to light when United States President Donald Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington last week. Rutte credited Zelensky's letter sent to Trump as the reason for the ongoing discussions and said he is "cautiously optimistic" about their outcome.

Commenting on Trump's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine, Rutte insisted that "support has to continue." He said European NATO members will take relations with the Trump administration "step by step" and that it is important to have "intense consultations within the alliance."