Incoming NATO leader Mark Rutte expressed his willingness to collaborate with whichever candidate emerges victorious in the forthcoming US presidential election, stating that he is “not worried” about how the outcome might affect the alliance’s stability.
Mr. Rutte, a steadfast supporter of Ukraine, highlighted his previous working relationship with former US President Donald Trump, the Republican contender, who has raised doubts regarding funding for Kyiv.
“I’m not worried. I know both candidates very well. I worked for four years with Donald Trump,” said Mr. Rutte, a former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, shortly before assuming the role of NATO Secretary General.
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Trump has threatened not to extend protection to NATO members that fail to meet defense spending requirements and has asserted his ability to negotiate a swift agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to conclude the war in Ukraine.
“She’s a highly respected leader,” he remarked.
Prior to a handover ceremony in Brussels, outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg affirmed that the military alliance was in “safe hands” with Rutte at the helm.
“He knows how to make compromises, create consensus, and these are skills that are highly valued here at NATO,” Mr. Stoltenberg articulated.
“NATO will be in safe hands.”
NATO officials and diplomats anticipate that Mr. Rutte will continue Mr. Stoltenberg’s focus on rallying support for Ukraine, urging NATO nations to increase defense spending, and ensuring ongoing US involvement in European security affairs.
Mr. Stoltenberg, a former Prime Minister of Norway, stepped down after a tumultuous decade at the head of the 32-member alliance, notably characterized by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Sweden and Finland have forsaken their long-standing policies of non-alignment to join NATO, thus benefitting from the collective defense clause, which stipulates that an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all.
The conflict has also led NATO to deploy thousands more troops to its eastern flank and drastically revise its defense strategies to take the potential threat from Moscow more seriously than at any time since the Cold War.
While Western leaders emphasize that NATO operates as a defensive alliance, Russia has consistently characterized it as a threat to its security.
One of Mr. Rutte’s primary responsibilities will be to persuade NATO member states to provide the additional troops, weapons, and funding necessary to fully implement the new defense plans, according to diplomats and analysts.
“We need to do more regarding our collective defense and deterrence. We have to invest more, close capability gaps, and strive to achieve all the targets that NATO has set,” he commented.
