No peace agreement will be signed between Trump and Putin in Alaska without Ukraine's participation, NATO chief says.

Mark Rutte told American news channel CBS News that Ukraine will have to be and will be involved in peace talks."On Friday, we will find out how serious Putin is," Rutte said of the meeting between the leaders of the US and Russia, which is scheduled to take place in Alaska on August 15.

"The final agreement will not be made there. It will be a test of Putin by the US. I commend President Trump for pushing so hard for this meeting," he said.

"There certainly can't be an agreement that everyone involved doesn't agree to. And of course, ending this war is a high priority," Whitaker said.

Rutte said on Sunday that at this point it is necessary to recognize that Russia controls part of Ukrainian territory. After a possible ceasefire, he said, there will be discussions that will have to deal with the issue of territories and possible security guarantees for Ukraine. He stressed that Ukraine must be a sovereign country that decides on its own future.

On the territorial issue, the NATO chief pointed out the difference between de facto recognition and de jure recognition. According to him, a possible agreement could recognize Russia's de facto control over certain areas without legally accepting it.

As an example in this regard, he cited the West's non-recognition of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states from 1940 to 1991.

The NATO leader called Putin"the main threat to the Western alliance." "When it comes to Ukraine's future geostrategic position, the size and strength of its army, NATO's position on the eastern flank in countries like Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Putin has no say in these issues," he said.

(SME, Kyiv Independent, TASR)