NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has instructed Europe it should “keep on dreaming” if it thinks it can defend itself without the assist of the United States.
“If anyone thinks here again that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t. We need each other,” Rutte mentioned throughout an handle to the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday.
The NATO chief warned European nations they would wish to extend protection spending to 10% if they “really want to do it alone,” including they would wish to construct up their very own nuclear functionality, costing billions of euros.
“In that scenario, you will lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella. So hey, good luck,” he mentioned.
The feedback got here after a rollercoaster week for Europe and its Western allies, after President Donald Trump continued to advance his calls for for the US possession of Greenland, earlier than publicly ruling out the use of drive to annex the Arctic island throughout his speech at World Economic Forum in Switzerland’s Davos.
The NATO chief continued to reward Trump for elevating the subject of Arctic safety, acknowledging his protection of the president would possible irritate many in the room.
“I think he’s right. There is an issue with the Arctic region. There is an issue of collective security, because these sea lanes are opening up, and because the Chinese and the Russians are more and more active,” he mentioned.
Rutte outlined there could be two work streams going ahead relating to the Greenland subject. The first would contain NATO taking extra collective accountability for the protection of the Arctic, to stop Russia and China’s entry to the area, each militarily and economically.
The second would contain the continuation of trilateral discussions between the US, Denmark and Greenland. Rutte mentioned he wouldn’t be concerned in the discussions, including that he has no mandate to barter on behalf of Denmark, and won’t achieve this.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeld met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington earlier this month. Rasmussen mentioned the assembly was “constructive” however {that a} “fundamental disagreement” persists.
The following week, Trump and Rutte met in Davos, with the president claiming he had reached a framework for a Greenland cope with the NATO chief, and because of this mentioned he would no longer impose tariffs on European nations that had opposed his ambitions to amass the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. It’s not but totally clear what’s included in the framework, or Rutte’s actual position in the negotiations, however Trump’s gorgeous about-turn as soon as again shone the spotlight on the NATO secretary normal.