NATO chief Rutte says he and Zelensky will 'get drunk' in the Swiss Alps once the war ends

In brief

• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he and Zelensky plan to celebrate the end of the war in the Swiss Alps.
• Rutte said neither side is likely to win outright and that such wars usually end in compromise peace deals.
• He urged close US-Russia contact as nuclear powers and noted no official information on a China-US-Russia meeting at APEC.

Celebration plans

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on November 6 that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plan to mark the end of the war in the Swiss Alps. («Хорошенько выпьем в Альпах»: Рютте рассказал, как отпразднует с Зеленским окончание войны – NV) Asked by the host of the Dutch talk show Pauw & De Wit whether they had made concrete plans, referring to a documentary in which former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Zelensky spoke of going fishing once the war was over, Rutte said they would sit on a Swiss mountain and drink heavily. ("Добряче нап’ємося": Рютте розповів, як він та Зеленський відсвяткують завершення війни – Європейська правда)

Outlook for the war

Rutte said he considers it unlikely that either side will win the war, which Russia launched with its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Such conflicts, he said, usually end in a peace agreement that often amounts to a compromise. (Як може закінчитися війна Росії проти України: Рютте зробив заяву – UNIAN) He added that Europe must remain vigilant against possible Russian aggression even after fighting in Ukraine ends.

US-Russia relations and the APEC summit

On relations between Moscow and Washington under President Donald Trump, Rutte said the United States and Russia, as the world's two largest nuclear powers, should keep normal relations and be able to make contact quickly in case of a misunderstanding. He cited the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union brought the world to the brink of nuclear catastrophe.

Asked about a possible meeting of the leaders of China, the United States and Russia at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18–19, Rutte said no official information had been released on such a meeting.