NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised U.S. leadership under President Donald Trump during remarks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Alliance’s Defence Ministers meeting on 15 October, according to NATO.
Rutte described the meeting as an important step following the NATO Summit in The Hague, highlighting increases in allied defence spending and industrial output. “There is now much more cash on the table. There is firepower coming out of our defence industry, which is so important, and we are doing everything collectively to keep Ukraine strong,” he said.
The Secretary General credited U.S. leadership for driving a shift toward what he called a “fairer” alliance, referencing the historic burden-sharing reforms agreed at The Hague.
“Since President Eisenhower, there was this constant irritant that yes, NATO was there, the U.S. was committed, but also had a clear expectation that EU Allies and Canada would step up,” Rutte said.
“We took that historic decision in The Hague thanks to your leadership, equalising defence spending on this side of the pond and in Canada with what the U.S. is spending.”
Rutte also thanked Washington for sustaining support to Ukraine through a new funding mechanism under which allied nations reimburse U.S. contributions. “When it comes to Ukraine, you decided to again make sure that they have what they need from the U.S. paid for by Allies, and that programme is now running. Two billion committed so far, and today I expect many new announcements of countries who will participate,” he said.
I know that this job is essentially a mouthpiece for Nato and US since it is the most prominent member, but at least Stoltenberg did it with dignity and professionalism.
I have no idea how Rutte looks at himself in the mirror in the morning. this guy has 0 self respect
Completely agree, though I suspect the EU has told him to arse lick a bit until Europe gets its military in order.