BRUSSELS, May 20. /TASS/. NATO believes that the May 19 phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump is “a good sign,” Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters.
“Let’s be thankful for the fact that Americans are now taking this position, this leadership role. <…> I think it’s a good sign that this phone call took place last night. It is good and positive that the American president immediately followed up this phone call with the Ukrainian president and European leaders,” the NATO chief said upon his arrival at the EU foreign and defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
At the same time, Rutte did not respond to questions on why the US president did not “increase the pressure on Russia.” “I don’t want to give a commentary on every development every day,” he pointed out.
On May 19, Putin and Trump spoke on the phone for more than two hours. They mostly discussed resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader later praised his conversation with the US president, calling it “constructive.”