Rutte insists that NATO allies have met US demands

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday once again sought to dispel doubts about the military alliance, saying the European allies are meeting US demands and increasing their defense commitments.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Foundation a day after meeting Donald Trump, Rutte said he told the US president that “the vast majority of European allies have done what the US has asked” amid tensions over support for Washington’s campaign against Iran.

Trump has criticized European allies for a perceived lack of support after some banned US planes bound for the Middle East from either flying over their territory or using several bases operated together. The US president has accused the alliance of being a “paper tiger” and suggested that could take his country out of the alliance as a whole.

On Wednesday, after meeting with Rutte at the White House, Trump wrote on social networks: “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.”

Rutte accepted some delays. “I sensed his frustration that he felt many allies were not visible enough,” he said. He noted that the Europeans were also surprised, as “to maintain the element of surprise, President Trump chose not to inform allies of the attack” on Iran.

The NATO chief reiterated that the alliance is entering “a period of profound change”, where Europe takes “a greater and fairer share of defense responsibilities”, moving “from unhealthy dependence to a transatlantic alliance based on partnership”. He noted concrete actions, including a UK-led effort to protect shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, as “evidence of a change in mentality”.

Rutte also released one open call to the European defense industry, saying: “Produce now, produce faster, bring in those extra shifts, don’t talk about ten-year plans – the money is there, act now.”

On Ukraine, Rutte praised Trump’s push for a solution, adding that US negotiators “all understand” that the key to breaking the current deadlock in peace talks is that “NATO membership is not off the table” for Ukraine and that the security guarantees offered are “so strong that they know Russia will not try to attack again”.

Asked about his now infamous “Daddy” comment, he said it was a case lost in translation: “We had a sort of pre-summit meeting with the President in June in The Hague, and he had been very angry that day with Iran and Israel,” Rutte recounts. “This was in June last year and I translated from Dutch something that we would say: ‘sometimes dad has to be angry.’ I didn’t call him my dad.”

“But of course, dad also has a special connotation, and I now have to live with that forever. I own it. Trump owned it, he even made a T-shirt out of it. He’s funny, and that’s why we like him. What can I say… I’m not a native speaker… sorry,” he concluded.

(in, au)