NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated that NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels to prepare for the upcoming Summit in The Hague, where they will also make key decisions to strengthen defense.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the summit, Rutte emphasized continued support for Ukraine and the urgent need for peace.
“The world is becoming increasingly dangerous. There is Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, the threat of terrorism, and fierce global competition. We will continue to defend our people and our way of life.”
He added:
“That’s why we must make NATO a stronger, fairer, and deadlier alliance. At this summit, we will take a major step forward. We will strengthen our defense by agreeing on new ambitious goals. These objectives will define the concrete forces and capabilities that allies must provide to reinforce our collective defense.”
Rutte listed air and missile defense, long-range weaponry, logistics, and large ground maneuver formations as top priorities.
“We need more resources to be ready to face any threat and to fully implement our collective defense plans,” he affirmed.
He concluded by saying that meeting these new objectives will clearly require significantly higher defense spending from member states.
