France, Feb. 13 -- Nato chief Mark Rutte, the head of the 32-nation defence bloc Nato, on Thursday insisted that Ukraine must be closely involved in any peace talks.

His comments, which echoed statements from a meeting of European foreign ministers, came as European defence chiefs gathered in the Belgian capital Brussels to begin preparations for the Nato summit in The Hague in June.

However, the agenda is likely to be overshadowed by Donald Trump's move to engage with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over a peace deal for Ukraine.

In their first confirmed contact since Trump's return to the White House, Trump said he had held a lengthy and highly productive conversation with Putin who ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The K...