The senior NATO official says that Russia has to move more quickly to end the war in Ukraine, and the United States said that Moscow had “to do more”.
“The ball is clearly in the court of the Russians”, the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, said in an interview This will be broadcast on “Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday. “They do not move fast enough, is my impression – including the impression that I receive from my American interlocutors, that – that Russia must really do more to put an end to this war.”
Rutte, who spoke with Brennan on Friday, said that the United States and its allies in the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty were under the fight against Russia and work in tandem to ensure the end of the war in Ukraine and Russian aggression.
He praised the White House for the prioritization of the attempt to “break the deadlock” in Ukraine, where the invasion of Russia has been putting itself since 2022, which has led to hundreds of thousands of victims and the wholesale destruction of cities and cities.
“I spoke with Marco Rubio, I am in regular contact with the other members of the American administration. I think you are really trying, step by step, to arrive at a situation where this war can end,” said Rutte, before questioning Russia’s commitment to the process.
“The Russians must also dance the tango, and at the moment they do not seem to do so,” said Rutte, while the Ukrainians are very close to the American position “.
Russia has not yet agreed To a full 30-day cease-fire offered by the United States and said that there were still unanswered problems that must be resolved first.
Rubio, who is Attend a NATO conference in Brusselstold journalists on Friday: “We will soon know about their answers if they are serious about real reality or if it is a delay tactic. We have now reached the stadium where we have to progress.”
Rutte said that it was the inauguration of President Trump who launched the peace process, telling Brennan that “until January this year, nothing happened when it was a question of ending this war”.
The two parties and the United States are working to hammer the details of a partial ceasefire.
NATO and Trump prices
Rutte said he didn’t believe that Mr. Trump’s global pricesWho has criticized Europe and many allies, will harm the military alliance.
“I’m not saying that it has no impact on Individual alliesBut that has no impact on the alliance, “said NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, in an interview recorded on Friday with” Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan “.
He added that it is “my firm conviction” that a potential trade war will not affect defense spending or NATO’s commitment to Europe.
Trump frequently criticized NATO countries To spend less 2% of their gross domestic product on defense and in its second administration pushed members more than double their defense expenses at 5%.
Rutte argued on Friday that European countries have already increased their expenses.
“It amazing the number of billions of dollars.
Nuclear deterrence
Pressed by Brennan on the declarations made by the leaders of Germany, Poland and France to the widening of a nuclear umbrella from Western Europe-beyond the protective insurance provided by the United States and the United Kingdom-Rutte declared that it was confident in the US nuclear security guarantee.
“Marco Rubio this week essentially repeated what President Trump said three times on television: that the United States is completely attached to NATO, is completely attached to article 5,” said Rutte. “This includes the United States being the ultimate guarantor, through nuclear deterrence, for NATO’s territory, including, and in particular of course, the European part of NATO.” Article 5 indicates that an attack on a member country of NATO is an attack on all members.
Rutte said the Trump administration “said” said it was attached to the alliance.
“What I urge my European colleagues to do is put on television and sometimes listen to senior American leaders regarding NATO,” said Rutte. “Instead of worrying constantly:” Are the United States still attached to NATO? “The answer is yes, it still comes out of the American system in the past three months.”
