President Donald Trump is slated to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Oct. 22, 2025 — days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
Rutte has visited the White House on several occasions during Trump’s second term, including in July and also in August after Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. NATO has backed Ukraine since Russia first invaded, and has provided Kyiv with military equipment and other assistance since 2022.
In August, Rutte and other European leaders joined Zelenskyy in an effort to advance peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. At the time, Trump said that European nations would shoulder the bulk of the burden by providing Ukraine with security guarantees in an attempt to deter future aggression from Russia.
As part of these security guarantees, Ukraine has sought to become a member of NATO during the peace negotiations. However, Trump has routinely ruled that out as a possibility.
Meanwhile, Russia's list of demands has historically included prohibiting Ukraine from ever joining NATO, and concessions on some land that previously belonged to Kyiv.
Additionally, Rutte’s meeting comes as Trump appeared to throw cold water on any hopes that the U.S. would arm Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, like Trump had said he was considering doing days ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit.
"I would much rather have them not need Tomahawks," Trump told reporters Friday. "I would much rather have the war be over to be honest, because we're in it to get the war over."
ZELENSKYY OUTLINES PEACE DEMANDS BEFORE HIGH-STAKES WHITE HOUSE MEETING WITH TRUMP
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recently had a "productive call" with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. (Jose Luis Magana/The Associated Press)
"Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call," a senior official said in a statement Tuesday to Fox News. "Therefore an additional in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the near future."
Meanwhile, Trump recently has cast doubt on whether Ukraine can defeat Russia.
"They could still win it. I don’t think they will, but they could still win it," Trump told reporters Monday.
Fox News’ Gillian Turner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-meets-natos-rutte-ukraine-peace-talks-take-center-stage-after-zelenskyy-visit