NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned NATO allies on Thursday that they are Russia’s “next target”. “We need to be very clear about the threat: we are Russia’s next target and we are in danger,” he said.
At a news conference in Berlin, alongside German President Friedrich Merz, the Alliance’s top representative urged allies to strengthen the defense of their borders in the face of the Russian threat and the possibility of Moscow triggering a war. According to Rutte, this shock could reach what he described as “the same magnitude as the war that our executioners and our great-grandchildren endured”, referring to the great wars of the 20th century.
Rutte asked to “imagine” a context in which the conflict “affects every home, every workplace” and in which Europe is marked by “destruction, massive recruitment and millions of displaced people”. This “terrible” scenario with “widespread suffering and extreme losses” could be avoided, according to the crackdown, if NATO members respected their commitments and withdrew militarily and supported Ukraine from falling into the hands of the Kremlin.
Rutte, who has called for an increase in defense spending by NATO member countries to up to 5% of their GDP, said there are too many alliance member governments that do not understand the urgency of the current situation, alluding to the threat Russia poses in Europe. The Alliance’s secretary general insisted that member countries must increase their defensive capacity, both in terms of spending and production, to prevent Moscow from invading other European territories.
“I fear that many people are very complacent and passive. Too many people do not feel the urgency. And too many think that time is on our side,” the Dutch politician said. “It’s not like that. Now is the time to act,” he said. Rutte believes that Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years: “The conflict is before our doors. Russia has betrayed the war of return to Europe. We must be ready,” he warned from Berlin, according to Reuters.
EE UU Commitment
In the same spirit, the NATO Secretary General reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the security of its allies, despite its security strategy revealed last year. The document, which reports on the Trump administration’s new foreign policy, blames the alleged decline in EU immigration and revives interventionism in Latin America.
“As NATO Secretary General, my main task is to guarantee the security of the Alliance as a whole,” he promised. “If I look from this point of view and I look at the security strategy (of the EE UU), then (in the document) it is clearly stated that the EE UU is committed to Europe, ensuring the security of Europe.”
It is also important to note that Washington recognizes that there is a lack of “strong cooperation” between European allies, the United States and Canada, so that “the entire Alliance continues to be secure”, and that it was American President Donald Trump who demanded a greater common effort to increase defense spending during the last NATO summit, celebrated in The Hague.
“We have always been committed to NATO, but we have always expected us to do more, to spend as much as them,” explained Rutte, who also highlighted the threat posed by China’s rearmament, Efe acknowledges.
Merz himself, whom Rutte praised for Germany’s goal of spending 3.5% of GDP in 2029, also stressed that there is no evidence that the United States will fail to meet its alliance defense commitments, and that this is reflected in Washington’s strategy. The canceler stressed that his country and Europe must “systematically reverse each other” in areas such as security, migration and economic policy.
“We want Europe to be able to stand on its own two feet. This is the necessary condition so that in the future we can maintain our European way of life, our freedom, our security and our well-being,” assured Merz.
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