TIRANA: NATO chief Mark Rutte said Vladimir Putin had made a 鈥渂ig mistake鈥� sending a lower-rank Russian delegation to conduct Friday鈥檚 first direct peace talks with Ukraine in three years.
鈥淗e knows extremely well that the ball is in his court, that he is in trouble, that he made a big mistake by sending this low-level delegation,鈥� Rutte told reporters at a gathering of European leaders in Tirana. 鈥淗e has to be serious about wanting peace. So I think all the pressure is now on Putin.鈥�