NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte voiced support on Sunday for President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that is scheduled for later this week.

Rutte appeared on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” and said that Trump “broke the deadlock” and opened Putin to peace negotiations. In response to a question from host Margaret Brennan that compared the Trump-Putin meeting to appeasement of the Nazis in 1938, Rutte said Friday’s meeting will be about “testing” how serious Putin is about a ceasefire or an end to the war in Ukraine.

“Obviously, when it comes to peace talks, the ceasefire, and what happens after that on territories, on security guarantees for Ukraine, Ukraine will have to be and will be involved,” Rutte said. “But on Friday, it is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump.”

“It’s really crucial that a meeting takes place,” he continued. “It is important to start the next phase of this process, putting pressure on the Russians exactly as President Trump has been doing over the last six months.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says President Trump “will test” Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska this Friday.

“It is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump,” he says, though he adds that “there… pic.twitter.com/V4q1B7VgJE

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 10, 2025

Putin has reportedly told the Trump administration that Russia would end the war if Ukraine ceded control of its eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russia largely controls though Ukraine’s military is fighting back in some spots. Putin also demanded recognition of Russian control of the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

On Friday, Trump said that a peace between Ukraine and Russia could involve “some swapping” of territories, a suggestion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flatly rejected on Saturday.

“Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” said Zelensky, according to The New York Times.

“Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace,” Zelensky added in a video posted to Telegram. “They will bring nothing. These are dead decisions; they will never work.”

Ukrainian support for continuing the war against Russia has collapsed, according to a Gallup poll released last week. Support for finding a negotiated solution to end the war has surged to 69% up from 52% last year. Support to continue fighting dropped from 38% to 24% over the same period.

Former Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-TX) railed against Republicans and called on Democrats to “f*** the rules” and redraw congressional districts that would ensure Democrats will “win whatever it takes.”

O’Rourke, whose most recent political aspirations ended in failures, has been attempting to use his non profit group “Powered by People” to slip money to Texas state Democrats who fled the state, breaking quorum at a called special legislative session in order to stall the passage of new district map that could give Republicans as many as five more right-leaning seats.

Following a loss in court — where he was slapped with a restraining order preventing him from raising money for those purposes — O’Rourke continued to lash out against Republicans.

In a deranged and profane rant, Chronic Loser Beto O’Rourke calls Republicans “fascists” and tells Democrat states to redraw their districts now.

“Fuck the rules, we are going to win whatever it takes.” pic.twitter.com/4ZF3sZJ2DL

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 9, 2025

“We are not going to let him stop us, are you with me on that?” he began. “We don’t await the punch thrown by these would-be fascists to land. We punch first, and we punch harder. We want California and New Jersey and Illinois and every other state where the Democrats hold the governor’s mansion, the assembly, and the state senate to redraw their congressional districts now, not wait for Texas to move first, to maximize Democratic Party advantage.”

“Listen, you may say to yourself, ‘Those aren’t the rules,'” he added. “There are no refs in this game, f*** the rules, we are going to win whatever it takes. We’re going to take this to him in every way that we can.”

O’Rourke also let the mask slip during another part of his remarks, revealing what he believed Democrats should do if they ever did regain the power he was suggesting they pull out all the stops to obtain: “[We should] drive that car like we stole it.”

WATCH:

Beto O’Rourke says when Democrats take back power, they’re going to “drive that car like we stole it” to give amnesty to illegal aliens.

O’Rourke: Illegal immigrants are “what makes this country so G**damned great in the first place.” pic.twitter.com/CYpN1JsQTi

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 9, 2025

O’Rourke stated that once they had the power, Democrats should offer mass amnesty to illegals in the country, arguing that they were “what makes this country so G**damned great in the first place.”