NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told the European Parliament that peace in Ukraine can only be lasting if Ukraine negotiates from a position of strength. This, he said, requires continued support and more weapons to allow the country to better defend itself.
Points of attention
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stresses the urgency for NATO countries to enhance defense spending and provide more support to Ukraine for lasting peace in the region.
- The call for increased defense spending is to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian aggression and prevent further destabilization campaigns by countries like Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.
- Rutte highlights the inadequacy of the current defense spending target of 2% of GDP and urges member states to boost investments in critical weapons and military capabilities.
- The article discusses the importance of discreet negotiations to prevent revealing strategic plans to adversaries like Russian President Putin during peace talks.
- Rutte also emphasizes the upcoming NATO summit in Helsinki to address security concerns in the Baltic Sea region and enhance defense infrastructure resilience.
Rutte called on NATO countries to strengthen their military-industrial complex
I don't know how or when the war will end, but I do know that peace will not last if Putin achieves his goals in Ukraine... Peace will not last if Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un, and the regime in Tehran greet each other, feeling stronger.
The head of the Alliance expressed deep concern about the security situation in Europe:
We are not at war, but we are not at peace either.” According to him, Russia is intensifying its destabilization campaign against Western countries: “What we used to call hybrid warfare, I would call it a destabilization campaign. And Russia is not alone — it has China, North Korea, and Iran alongside it.
Mark Rutte
NATO Secretary General
Rutte stressed that the current defense spending target of 2% of GDP, which two-thirds of NATO member states have reached, is insufficient to ensure future security. He called on member states to significantly increase defense spending and accelerate the production of critical weapons, including ships, tanks, aircraft, ammunition, satellites and drones.
On average, European countries easily spend up to a quarter of their national income on pensions, healthcare and social assistance. And we only need a small fraction of that to make our defense much stronger.
Speaking about the defense industry, he noted:
The reality is that we are not where we need to be yet. Our industry is still too small, too fragmented and, frankly, too slow.
The Secretary General also announced the first summit of NATO allies in the Baltic Sea region in Helsinki:
At the summit, a group of Allied leaders will take further steps to prevent any further damage to underwater facilities and improve the resilience of energy and communications infrastructure.
Rutte advises politicians to refrain from making loud statements
According to the NATO Secretary General, it is currently extremely important not to disclose the details of what could become a "strong deal" for Ukraine.
Mark Rutte emphasized that it would be better for Kyiv's allies not to reveal all their trump cards to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Why are we having these conversations on TV now? Let's do it behind closed doors, because otherwise, when Putin sits down at the negotiating table, he will already know everything we are going to do. That's why I hesitate a little to answer your question (journalists' questions about the details of the peace agreement — ed.).
