The head of NATO has called for increased support for Ukraine, aiming to position Kyiv strongly for a sustainable peace deal with Russia.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mark Rutte emphasized the necessity to “change the trajectory of the war.” He warned that a poor end to the Russia-Ukraine war could lead to “agreements between Vladimir Putin and leaders of North Korea, Iran, and China.”
Rutte added that if Ukraine were to lose the war, NATO members would be forced to spend trillions more on defense, as reported by The Guardian.
His comments came after Donald Trump threatened Russia with taxes, tariffs, and sanctions if a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine isn’t reached soon.
Rutte stressed that any peace deal must be sustainable, to avoid a repeat of the Minsk talks in 2014, which were followed by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Rutte told participants at a breakfast organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, “There is a commitment for Ukraine to become a NATO member.”
However, former Trump envoy Richard Grenell responded to Rutte’s remarks.
“You cannot ask the American people to extend NATO’s umbrella when current members are not paying their fair share, including the Dutch, who need to contribute more,” Grenell said.
Rutte agreed that Europe had “under-invested in defense,” a point frequently raised by Trump.
Rutte acknowledged that the situation needed to change, warning that not all NATO members had reached the goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense, which he said was already too low.
“We are safe now, but NATO collectively cannot defend itself in four or five years if we stick to 2%,” he concluded.
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