Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte opposed the initiative of Germany and France to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to a summit with the leaders of the EU countries. This is reported by the Dutch TV channel NOS with reference to AFP.

Rutte said he would not participate in the summit with Putin due to the  crash of flight MH17 over Donbas in 2014, the majority of whose passengers were killed were Dutch citizens.

At the same time, Rutte said that he would not mind if the heads of the governing bodies of the European Union – the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen – would conduct negotiations with Putin.

Also against the summit of EU leaders with Putin were Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

On June 23, sources in the Financial Times reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered to invite Putin to a summit with EU leaders, her initiative was supported by French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the Financial Times, Merkel and Macron consider it necessary to develop closer cooperation between the EU and Russia.

(C)MEDUZA 2021