By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – NATO’s incoming secretary-general said Friday that one of his main tasks would be “to keep military alliance united” at a time of divisions over the war in Ukraine.
Mark Rutte, the longtime Dutch prime minister who becomes NATO chief on October 1, also told reporters in The Hague that “it will be very important in the coming years to have real talks on doing more defense” of the alliance.
He referred to ongoing pressure from Washington on member states to spend at least 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense.
Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump has even threatened not to defend NATO nations that spend less than the required minimum on their military.
Rutte, who leaves the coalition government, made clear he was looking forward to taking over as NATO chief from Jens Stoltenberg after Romania and Hungary withdrew their objections.
The 57-year-old has a good working relationship with U.S. President Joe Biden and his rival Trump, who are expected to confront each other during the presidential elections in November, analysts say.
Rutte will oversee an alliance with sharp differences over the ongoing invasion of Russia in Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia are among the most vocal NATO member states that have expressed misgivings about providing military assistance to Ukraine.
Rutte promised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that his country wouldn’t be involved in providing weapons, troops, or military funding to Ukraine.
Budapest has clarified that it prefers U.S.-led peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since the Second World War.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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