(MENAFN- UkrinForm) He said this in an interview with media outlets of the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) group and the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Ukrinform reports, citing DW.

According to Rutte, the meeting in Geneva laid the groundwork for a real dialogue between the United States and Ukraine.

|The talks were indeed successful. But they must be followed by further meetings, and then separate negotiations with the EU and NATO on certain matters. On the road to peace, we are still far from our goal," he said.

Rutte also noted that he shares the view of U.S. President Donald Trump that the bloodshed in Ukraine must be stopped.

"Currently, around one million Russians have been killed or severely wounded. Russia is losing about 20,000 soldiers every month. [...] On the Ukrainian side, there are also many dead and wounded," Rutte said, adding that Russian forces have been attempting to capture the city of Pokrovsk for 18 months, but "still cannot fully control it."

He noted that a reliable agreement must ensure that Russian leader Vladimir Putin never again dares to attack, because he would clearly understand that "the consequences for him will be catastrophic."

Rutte said that Trump's peace plan provides a foundation for creating a path toward a situation in which a peace agreement with Russia can be reached.

"At the same time, discussions are underway at the EU and NATO levels that, however, are not connected to the negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine," he said.

Rutte also recalled ongoing weapons deliveries to Ukraine under the PURL framework. Under this initiative, allies finance U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine based on its prioritized requirements list.

Read also: Zelensky assures Rutte Ukraine ready to work quickly and constructively to make peace plan effective

Earlier, U.S. media reported that the Trump administration had held secret consultations with the Kremlin to develop a new plan to stop the war in Ukraine. Axios reported that the plan consists of 28 points and is divided into four broad categories: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and the future of U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine.

According to media reports, Kyiv is expected to give up Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donbas, reduce its army, and relinquish a significant portion of its weaponry. The plan envisages that the transfer of the remaining territories of Donbas would take place in exchange for U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv and Europe, though the mechanism for these guarantees is not clearly defined.

U.S. lawmakers said that during their conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he described the U.S. peace plan as a "wish list" for the Russians rather than a genuine proposal from Washington. Rubio later denied this, stating that the "peace proposal was authored by the U.S."

Following negotiations in Geneva, Ukraine and the United States agreed to continue working on joint proposals for a peace agreement. Both sides reaffirmed that any future deal must fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty and ensure a sustainable and just peace. They prepared an updated and refined peace framework document based on the talks.

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov stated that the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations in Geneva reached common understanding on key conditions of a peace agreement. Final stages of the negotiations are supposed to take place during President Volodymyr Zelensky's upcoming visit to the United States in November.

Zelensky said that following the Geneva talks between Ukraine and the U.S., the "peace plan" now contains fewer points. According to media reports, the number of points was reduced from 28 to 19.

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