Rutte backed Trump on NATO defense spending and policy toward Iran
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that U.S. President Donald Trump was right to demand that allies increase their defense spending, and he also expressed support for Trump’s policy toward Iran.
According to the Alliance’s Secretary General, he views Trump’s role in strengthening NATO positively, despite the controversy that certain statements and decisions by the U.S. president have sparked among allies.
“I just like this guy. I think what he’s doing for NATO is great news,” Rutte said.
He emphasized that Donald Trump is achieving a goal that U.S. presidents have sought since the time of Dwight Eisenhower: a more equitable distribution of defense spending between the U.S. and its European allies.
“President Trump is [essentially] achieving what U.S. presidents have been trying to achieve since the time of Eisenhower, namely, balancing defense spending between the U.S. and Europe,” the NATO Secretary General noted.
Rutte expressed his conviction that the current NATO summit will be “transformative” and will involve the allocation of billions in funding for the Alliance’s key defense programs.
He also emphasized that European countries are significantly building up their own military capabilities to take on greater responsibility for the continent’s security.
“You must build an Alliance that is resilient and therefore not overly dependent on the United States—a stronger Europe within a stronger NATO, where Europeans and Canadians are truly stepping up,” Rutte emphasized.
The Alliance’s Secretary General stated that strengthening defense capabilities is necessary first and foremost due to the threat posed by Russia.
“We must do this because of the threat from Russia, and we see what the Russians are doing in Ukraine,” he said.
According to Rutte, NATO must protect nearly one billion citizens of its member countries not only from Russian aggression but also in light of China’s growing military power and the cooperation between Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.
At the same time, he acknowledged that Donald Trump has sometimes been justified in expressing dissatisfaction with the actions of allies, but emphasized that the United States and NATO countries remain united partners.
“I think the president is right that there are individual cases where he is justifiably disappointed, but if you look at the bigger picture of what Europeans are doing, it’s enormous,” Mark Rutte concluded.
Rutte made these remarks in an interview with Politico.
Today, July 7, the 36th NATO summit begins in Ankara and will last two days. Heads of state and government from all 32 Alliance countries, including U.S. President Donald Trump, will gather at the presidential complex.
As a reminder, NATO countries have reached the landmark level of 4% of GDP in military spending.
The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Finland, and Poland will establish a new Multilateral Defense Financing Mechanism (MDM).
Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated that NATO countries, including the United States, are currently supporting Ukraine’s large-scale campaign to strike Russian territory, with the aim of forcing Moscow to return to the negotiating table.
