NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte painted a grim picture of the world and called on Europe and Canada to ramp up their defense spending Thursday.
Rutte made the comments during an address to member countries at a Carnegie Europe conference in Brussels. He issued stark warnings about Russia’s alleged ambitions beyond Ukraine as well as China’s own growing aggression.
“I’ll be honest, the security situation does not look good,” Rutte began, calling it the worst in his lifetime. “From Brussels, it takes one day to drive to Ukraine. That’s how close the Russian bombs are falling. It’s how close the Iranian drones are flying, and not much further, the North Korean soldiers are fighting.”
Rutte went on to argue that Putin poses a wider threat to Europe beyond Ukraine, saying he “wants to crush our freedom and way of life.”
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte holds the closing press conference at the NATO headquarters. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)
“This all points in one clear direction: Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation – with Ukraine and with us,” Rutte said. “It is time to shift to a wartime mindset.”
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Rutte’s remarks come just weeks before President-elect Trump enters office after campaigning on an anti-war platform. Trump has, however, likewise urged NATO’s other members to pay their fair share of the organization’s defense budget.
President Biden ran on an anti-war platform, but has also encouraged more NATO members to boost defense spending. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Trump has also said he does not plan to abandon Ukraine. He said he will advocate for a peace agreement with Russia, but has not elaborated on what that would entail.
NATO members agreed to work toward spending 2% of their annual GDP on defense, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea a decade ago.
Only six member nations met the 2% goal in 2021, but this year, NATO expects a record 23 of 32 member nations to hit the Western military alliance’s spending goals, according to data released over the summer.
NATO’s chief says Putin plans to continue aggression beyond Ukraine if it falls. (Reuters/AP)
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO leaders have emphasized that the 2% target should be considered a minimum.
Poland and Estonia both led the United States this year in the percentage of their GDP they spend on defense, according to NATO. The U.S. is estimated to spend 3.38% of its GDP on defense.
Rutte, who stepped into the NATO role on Oct. 1, was the Dutch prime minister during Trump’s first term and had a reputation as a “Trump whisperer,” Politico reported.
Fox News’ Hannah Ray Lambert contributed to this report.
