The Secretary-General of NATO Mark Rutte sounded optimistic comments to reporters following a meeting at the White House Thursday, endorsing president Trump's efforts to reach a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, but declining to comment on the specifics of the plan.
When asked whether he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to make peace, as we have heard President Trump indicate is his belief, he said "I don't know."
Rutte also looked ahead to the NATO summit coming up in the Hague in June, where the U.S. has called for allies to increase their defense spending to a 5% threshold of their GDP. The current rate is 2% and there are handful of countries that do not yet meet that target. The secretary-general shared a view that allies do need to increase spending.
"We really are very excited about the fact we will see a NATO which is spending so much more on defense, particularly the European and Canadian side, more and more making sure that we equalize with what the U.S. is spending," Rutte told reporters. "As the ambassador here said the other day it will not be billions, but when you look at it for the years to come it will be trillions. And this is necessary to make sure that we stay safe. So this is really a NATO which is stronger, which is fairer, which is also more lethal in terms of being able to defend NATO territory."
RELATED STORY | Ambassador Matthew Whitaker explains the US' priorities for NATO
In a recent interview with Scripps News, the U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker reiterated a long-term vision for the alliance.
Whitaker said the priorities for the U.S. in NATO are “to make NATO a modern war fighting alliance” focused on the threats of Russia, as well as hybrid and asymmetrical threats.
“It’s preparing the Alliance for the future and to make sure that kind of under investment in defense that we've seen over the last, really, since 1991, since the fall of the wall, I think, you know, is fixed, and ultimately that we have an equal alliance between the United States and our 31 allies that bears the burden equally and addresses the threats, but is strong, and is credible, and is a deterrence and a force for peace,” Whitaker said.
